Latest news with #defence ministers
Al Jazeera
7 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Thailand, Cambodia officials meet in Malaysia to cement ceasefire details
Officials from Thailand and Cambodia have met in Malaysia for the start of border talks, a week after a fragile ceasefire brought an end to an eruption of five days of deadly clashes between the two countries. The meeting on Monday came ahead of a key meeting on Thursday, which is expected to be led by the Thai and Cambodian defence ministers. This week's talks, which will be observed by representatives from China, Malaysia and the United States, aim to iron out plans to maintain the current truce and avoid future border confrontations. They will include finalising details for a monitoring team from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Malaysian Chief of Defence Forces General Mohd Nizam Jaffar said on Monday. The sessions in Malaysia follow the worst fighting between Thailand and Cambodia in more than a decade. Clashes along the long-disputed border last month killed at least 43 people, including civilians, and left more than 300,000 others displaced, according to the Reuters news agency. Relations between the neighbours deteriorated in May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a border skirmish, before worsening when Thai soldiers were injured by landmines in contested territory last month. The Southeast Asian countries downgraded diplomatic relations and violence broke out, which both sides blamed the other for starting. The recent fighting involved infantry clashes, artillery exchanges, air strikes and rocket fire. A ceasefire was announced on July 28, in part following economic pressure from US President Donald Trump, who warned both countries that they could not make trade deals with Washington without a ceasefire. Despite the fragile truce, tensions remain high and mistrust between the two sides lingers. Cambodia's defence ministry has accused Thailand of violating the terms of the ceasefire by installing barbed wire in a disputed border area, while the Thai military has suggested that the Cambodian army has reinforced troops in key areas. Both countries have given foreign observers tours of last month's battle sites, while seeking to show the damage allegedly inflicted by the other nation. Thailand and Cambodia also accuse each other of violating international humanitarian laws by targeting citizens. Phnom Penh continues to demand the release of 18 of its captured troops, whom Bangkok says it will only release following 'a complete cessation of the armed conflict, not just a ceasefire'. On Friday, Thailand returned two wounded Cambodian soldiers through a border checkpoint connecting Thailand's Surin province and Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey. The neighbours dispute how the troops came to be captured, with Thailand rejecting Cambodia's claims that the troops approached Thai positions to offer post-conflict greetings.
The Independent
04-08-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Thailand and Cambodia hold high-stakes border talks in Malaysia amid fragile ceasefire
Top defence officials of Thailand and Cambodia began talks in Malaysia on Monday to hold the ceasefire on the border, a week after the worst fighting broke out between the two Southeast Asian countries in decades. The meeting of the General Border Committee, a bilateral mechanism established between two neighbours to resolve border issues, will continue for four days, concluding with the meeting of the defence ministers of the two countries on Thursday. The defence ministers' meeting will be joined by observers from Malaysia, the US and China. The meeting was held in Kuala Lumpur at a neutral venue and was extended from one day to four days at the request of Thailand due to the sensitivity of the situation. Malaysia brokered a ceasefire with the help of delegations from the US and China on 29 July after five days of fighting killed 43 people and displaced hundreds of thousands on both sides of the border. Mostly civilians were killed in the border clashes that included artillery fire and jet fighter sorties after the two sides blamed each other for triggering the conflict. While the ceasefire holds, the Cambodian defence ministry on Sunday accused Thailand of violating the ceasefire agreement by using excavators and laying barbed wire in a contested border area. Thailand said both sides are maintaining their position without any significant movements, however, it accused Cambodia of reinforcement along the border. But "there are reports that the Cambodian side has modified their positions and reinforced their troops in key areas... to replace personnel lost in each area," said Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, a Thai military spokesperson. Cambodia also demanded that Thailand release 18 of its captured soldiers as soon as possible. Thailand said in a statement that the group are being treated well as "prisoners of war" and will be released after "a complete cessation of the armed conflict, not just a ceasefire." The clashes, which began near the ancient Ta Moan Thom temple in Thailand's Surin province, quickly spread to other disputed areas. Cambodian officials accused Thailand of launching air strikes and dropping bombs on roads inside its territory. Thailand blamed Cambodia for laying new landmines – one of which injured a Thai soldier and prompted a swift military response, including the deployment of F-16 fighter jets.
