Malaysia ready to host Thailand-Cambodia talks to preserve ceasefire

Foreign minister Mohamad Hasan says the talks should be held in Malaysia as both Thailand and Cambodia have lost confidence and trust in each other.

Cambodia and Thailand traded accusations following fresh clashes along their border on Wednesday after Bangkok said it was pausing the implementation of a US-backed peace deal. (AFP pic)

PETALING JAYA:

 Malaysia is prepared to host talks between Thailand and Cambodia following renewed tensions along their shared border.

Foreign minister Mohamad Hasan said the talks should be held in Malaysia because both countries had “lost confidence and trust in each other”, reported Bernama.

Mohamad said while relations between the two countries had appeared positive after both countries’ leaders signed the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accord at the recent 47th Asean Summit, ties between the neighbouring countries had since deteriorated.

“Cambodia has requested that the talks be held in Kuala Lumpur, and Thailand has similarly asked that we continue our efforts to preserve the ceasefire,” he said at an event in Seremban.

“They were in high spirits (last month) but unfortunately, hostilities have now resurfaced at the border,” he said.

Mohamad said Thailand suspended the ceasefire after several of its soldiers were injured by landmines during border patrols. Thailand claimed the mines had been newly planted by Cambodian forces.

“However, Asean observer teams in both Thailand and Cambodia reported that the landmines were not newly laid.

“I just spoke with the Thai foreign minister, and my hope is that both sides will remain calm and continue with peace talks,” he said.

Cambodia and Thailand traded accusations following fresh clashes along their border yesterday after Bangkok said it was pausing the implementation of a US-backed peace deal, reported AFP.

Five days of hostilities erupted between Thailand and Cambodia earlier this year, killing 43 people and displacing around 300,000 before a truce backed by US president Donald Trump cooled tensions.

Thailand on Monday paused implementation of a deal to wind down hostilities, claiming a blast from a newly laid landmine had wounded four of its soldiers.

In a statement on Tuesday, Cambodia’s defence ministry denied that it had laid new landmines and urged Thailand to avoid patrols in old minefield areas. It said it was committed to working with Bangkok in line with the October deal.

The dispute between Thailand and Cambodia dates back more than a century to a disagreement over the colonial-era mapping of their border.

Tensions have long flared around a group of border temples which both sides claim for their own.

Both sides agreed a truce late July after intervention by Trump, as well as Chinese diplomats and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. - FMT