Malaysia announced on Sunday that the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia will meet tomorrow to negotiate a solution to the armed conflict they have been engaged in since Thursday along their shared border.
PUBLICIDAD
In statements to the Malaysian news agency Bernama, the country’s Foreign Minister, Mohamad Hasan, said that the interim Prime Minister of Thailand, Phumtham Wechayachai, and the Prime Minister of Cambodia, Hun Manet, will arrive in Kuala Lumpur to try to reach a solution to the conflict.
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Neither Bangkok nor Nom Pen have provided more details about the potential meeting, and following the announcement by the Malaysian chancellor, the Foreign Office has urged caution, pending further discussions between the parties involved, given “the sensitivity surrounding the issue.”
Why did the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia erupt?
Malaysia is expected to act as a mediator in the armed dispute between these countries, as it holds the rotating presidency of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). “They have full confidence in Malaysia and have requested it to act as a mediator,” the foreign minister noted, after speaking with the foreign ministers of Thailand and Cambodia, who “agreed that no other country should get involved in this matter.”
The country’s Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, already proposed a ceasefire on Friday in the confrontation, which has resulted in at least 34 dead, dozens injured, and thousands displaced.
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, said on Saturday on his social network Truth Social, after speaking with the leaders of Bangkok and Nom Pen, that both nations had agreed to “meet immediately and quickly negotiate a ceasefire” to resolve the dispute on their dividing line.
Both Bangkok and Nom Pen, which have a historical territorial dispute, have shown openness to engage in negotiations in order to reach a peaceful solution, but today attacks continued from both sides in what marks the fourth day of conflict.
It is not clear who is responsible for the latest escalation. However, tensions between both countries have increased significantly in recent months.
At the end of May, Cambodian soldiers tried to dig trenches in a disputed border area. This led to an exchange of gunfire with the Thai army and the death of a Cambodian soldier. Since then, both countries have deployed more soldiers in the border region.