Both sides agree to extend truce, though Thailand still holds 18 Cambodian soldiers taken hours after truce implemented.
Cambodia and Thailand have agreed to allow observers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to monitor a fragile ceasefire that ended five days of deadly border clashes last month.
Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Seiha and Thailand’s acting Defence Minister Nattaphon Narkphanit concluded four days of talks in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday aimed at thrashing out the terms of the Malaysia-brokered truce, with a joint pledge to continue a freeze on border troop movements and patrols.
The two countries have quarrelled for decades over their 817km (508-mile) undemarcated land border, the latest dispute breaking out after a landmine explosion on the border wounded five Thai soldiers last month, with the resulting fighting killing at least 43 people.
According to a joint statement of the so-called General Border Committee, each country will set up its own interim observer team comprised of defence officials from the ASEAN regional bloc and coordinated by current chair Malaysia, pending the deployment of a formal observer mission.
The United States welcomed the developments as an “important step forward in solidifying the ceasefire arrangement and establishing the ASEAN observation mechanism”, said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a statement on Thursday.
“President Trump and I expect the governments of Cambodia and Thailand to fully honor their commitments to end this conflict,” Rubio noted.
The July 28 ceasefire followed economic pressure from US President Donald Trump, who had warned the nations that he would not conclude trade deals with them if the fighting persisted. Washington subsequently lowered tariffs on goods from the two countries from 36 percent to 19 percent at the beginning of this month.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize on Thursday, lauding him for his “extraordinary statesmanship” and his “visionary and innovative diplomacy” in a letter addressed to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
“This timely intervention, which averted a potentially devastating conflict, was vital in preventing great loss of lives and paved the pay towards the restoration of peace,” he said.
Shaky deal
Implementation of the deal was initially bumpy, with both Thailand and Cambodia accusing each other of violating international humanitarian laws and breaching the truce in the first few days of its implementation.
While both sides have now extended the shaky deal, the issue of 18 Cambodian soldiers captured just hours after the ceasefire took effect remains a sticking point.
Cambodia had accused Thailand of mistreating the captured men, who initially numbered 20, with two wounded members repatriated on Friday. Thai authorities called the group “prisoners of war” and said they would only be freed and repatriated following an end to the conflict.
The joint statement did not directly mention them, but it noted that the captives should be “immediately released and repatriated after the cessation of active hostilities”.
Tensions have been growing between the two countries since May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic rift and roiled Thailand’s domestic politics.