Thailand and Cambodia agreed on Thursday, August 7, to extend a shaky ceasefire deal that followed five days of deadly hostilities along their border last month. At least 43 people were killed in the conflict that ended on Tuesday last week, after a long-standing dispute over border temples erupted into violence.
A truce was brokered by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim – chair of the ASEAN regional bloc – after cajoling by United States President Donald Trump and a team of Chinese mediators. Both Thailand and Cambodia accused each other of breaching the terms of the deal during the first days of the truce, with limited skirmishes along their shared 800-kilometer (500-mile) border, although clashes quickly dropped off.
The deal dictated a ceasefire, followed by a meeting of rival regional commanders, before defence officials held three days of talks in Kuala Lumpur that concluded with a joint statement on Thursday. “Both sides agree to a ceasefire involving all types of weapons, including attacks on civilians and civilian objects and military objectives of either side, in all cases and all areas,” it said. “This agreement must not be violated under any circumstances.”
‘Stop the bloodshed’
The joint statement signed by Thai Deputy Defence Minister Nattaphon Narkphanit and Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Seiha said they had agreed to continue a freeze on border troop movements and patrols. “We are here for a detailed ceasefire arrangement to stop bloodshed and the suffering by soldiers and civilians of both sides,” Seiha told reporters at a news conference. “The steps are life-saving measures and lay the groundwork for restoring confidence, trust, and normalcy between our two countries.”
The statement scheduled another meeting within a month and said both sides would also “agree to refrain from disseminating false information or fake news in order to de-escalate tensions.” “In order for our discussions today to result in concrete outcomes, both sides needed to show cooperation and sincerity,” Natthaphon told reporters.
‘High level of tension’
US Ambassador to Malaysia Edgard Kagan, who attended Thursday’s meeting as an observer, cautioned that the agreement was just one step towards lasting peace. “We have to be honest and say that there is still a very high level of tension, there’s a high level of distrust,” he told reporters. “We think that it is going to be important for both sides to show strong commitment at the highest levels, and that it is messaged clearly down to the soldiers and policemen who are on the border,” Kagan said.
The contested temples are claimed by both nations because of a vague demarcation made by Cambodia’s French colonial administrators in 1907.
Last month’s clashes were the deadliest in the region in more than a decade and forced more than 300,000 people to flee combat areas on both sides of the border.
