Keystone-SDA
Thailand affirms that discussions will take place in Malaysia with Cambodia on Monday, after the fighting between the two countries entered their fourth day on Sunday.
(Keystone-ATS) Thai and Cambodian leaders assured on Saturday that they were open to a cease-fire during distinct telephone conversations with American president Donald Trump but, since then, they have accused mutually of maintaining hostilities and holding double language.
The two kingdoms are going through the bloodiest episode in their relations since 2011, linked to the disputed route of their common border. The exchanges of fire, including artillery, and the air strikes have since made at least 34 dead on Thursday and caused the movement of around 200,000 people.
Bangkok announced Sunday evening that the acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai was going to go to Malaysia on Monday, in what could constitute his first meeting with his counterpart Khmer Hun Manet, also expected.
Restore peace
The objective of discussions are to “listen to all proposals” and to “restore peace,” said the office of the head of the Thai government in a statement.
Phnom Penh has not yet reacted to this announcement but Hun Manet, during his interview with Mr. Trump, recalled that Cambodia “approved the proposal of an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. »»
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim proposed his assistance as a mediator on Thursday, this year Malaysia occupying the rotating presidency of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) of which Thailand and Cambodia are members this year.
Anwar Ibrahim said that the planned talks were to carry on an immediate ceasefire between the two countries in conflict. The representatives of the Cambodian and Thai governments “asked me to try to negotiate a peace agreement,” he said on Sunday evening, according to the national news agency Bernama.
“I discuss parameters, conditions, but what is important is (one) immediate ceasefire,” he added.
Customs duties
Donald Trump announced on Saturday, after speaking with Hun Manet and Phumtham Wechayachai, that their two countries were ready to meet to reach a ceasefire.
Thailand and Cambodia, dependent on exports, are also in full discussions with the White House concerning the prohibitive customs duties which must strike them on August 1.
Trump said that it was “inappropriate” to return to the negotiating table on the commercial aspect as long as the fighting has “stopped”, in a message on his Truth Social network.
France, the European Union, China or the United Nations have, in recent days, all already called for dialogue and at the end of the conflict.
On Sunday, Thailand and Cambodia reported exchanges of artillery fire from 04:30 (Saturday 23:30 Swiss) near disputed temples where the first clashes broke out on Thursday.
Bangkok has committed “deliberate and coordinated acts of assault,” said the spokesperson for the Cambodian Defense Ministry, Maly Socheata, denouncing the “lies” and the “false pretexts” of the Thai, guilty of “illegal invasion” in his eyes.
The Thai Foreign Affairs Ministry spoke of the “heavy artillery fire” of the Cambodian army on “civilians of civilians” in the province of Surin.
“Any cessation of hostilities is impossible as long as Cambodia shows a blatant lack of good faith and continues to repeat the fundamental principles of human rights and humanitarian law,” warned Thai diplomacy.
The Thai army also accused Cambodia on Sunday of resorting to “long -range weapons”.
Several fronts
In recent days, the conflict has extended, with now multiple fronts, sometimes far from several hundred kilometers between them, from the Thai province of Trat, popular with tourists, on the Gulf of Thailand, to an area nicknamed “The Emerald Triangle” for its proximity to Laos.
Diplomatic relations between the two neighboring kingdoms, linked by rich cultural and economic ties, have been at the lowest in decades.
The current clashes have officially killed 21 on the Thai side, including eight soldiers, and 13 dead, including five soldiers, on the Cambodian side.
More than 138,000 Thai people have evacuated risk areas, according to Bangkok, and more than 80,000 Cambodians have done the same, according to Phnom Penh.
Thailand and Cambodia dispute the layout of their common border, established during the French Indochina. Before the current fights, the most violent episode linked to this dispute dates back to fights around the temple of Preah Vihear between 2008 and 2011. They had left at least 28 dead and tens of thousands of people had been moved.