Keystone-SDA
Thailand and Cambodia, gathered through Malaysia, agreed to stop hostilities on Monday at midnight (7:00 p.m. Swiss), after five days of deadly clashes on their border.
(Keystone-ATS) “Cambodia and Thailand have reached a common agreement providing for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire,” said Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, after three hours of discussions with his counterparts from the countries concerned.
“This is a vital first step towards de-escalation and the restoration of peace and security,” he assured journalists, alongside his Thai and Khmer counterparts.
During the press conference, AFP journalists present in Samraong, in the northwest of Cambodia, about twenty kilometers from the border, heard the noise of artillery fire.
The two kingdoms of Southeast Asia have been opposed for decades on the layout of their common border, defined in the time of French Indochina, but rarely in modern history such an episode of violence has shaken the region.
The clashes have killed at least 36 people since Thursday, and caused the displacement of around 280,000 inhabitants.
Thailand and Cambodia have accused each other of having attacked first, and each camp questioned the sincerity of the opponent, before sitting at the negotiating table, under the eye of the United States and China.
Back to “normal”
The acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai praised the intervention of Malaysia, which occupies the rotating presidency of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN), China and “President Trump”.
“We have agreed with a ceasefire, which, we hope, will be respected in good faith by both parties,” said the leader.
For his part, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet judged that this peace agreement offered a chance of a “return to normal”.
“The solutions that the Prime Minister (Malaysian) Anwar has just announced the conditions for our bilateral discussions again to normal relations,” he said.
Bangkok and Phnom Penh are with knives drawn since the death of a Khmer soldier in late May, during an exchange of fire in a disputed area. Since then, against a backdrop of the nationalist discourse, the two countries have embarked on an outbidding of measures that affected economic flows and people.
Before the triggering of clashes, Thailand also expelled the Cambodian ambassador from its territory, and recalled its present in Cambodia. The Khmer kingdom responded by degrading “at the lowest level” diplomatic relations with its neighbor.
The rise in tensions has degenerated into fights, despite the calls of France, the European Union or China, which maintains good relations with the two countries.
“Very happy”
US President Donald Trump called on the chief of the two camps on Saturday, urging them to agree around a quick agreement, under penalty of freezing discussions on prohibitive customs duties which must strike these two dependent economies of exports on August 1.
“I am very happy for the ceasefire. This will allow people to go home and children to go back to school. Please stop the fights, ”reacted to AFP Soeung Chhivling, a Cambodian seller living near the border.
The two armies reported clashes on Monday morning in several places from their border.
“It is the fifth day that Thailand invaded Cambodian territory with heavy weapons and the deployment of many soldiers,” said the spokesperson for the Cambodian Ministry of Defense, Maly Socheata.
The clashes have officially killed 23 people on the Thai side, including nine 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 140,000 Cambodians have done the same, according to Phnom Penh.