The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia are set to meet in Malaysia for talks aimed at resolving a deadly border dispute, even as both sides accuse one another of new artillery attacks in contested areas.
Thai acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai will lead Bangkok’s delegation on Monday in the mediation effort. The talks are scheduled to begin at 3pm local time (07:00 GMT).
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet is also expected to attend, Malaysian authorities confirmed. Kuala Lumpur currently chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional bloc, and has offered to mediate the crisis, which has left several soldiers dead in recent weeks.
Tensions escalated after both nations exchanged fire along the disputed stretch of their shared border, prompting international concern. Last week, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim proposed a ceasefire to both parties.
Speaking to reporters in Scotland on Sunday, United States President Donald Trump said he warned both countries that future trade agreements with Washington would be suspended if hostilities continue.
“I spoke to both of the prime ministers, and I think by the time I got off [the phone], I think they want to settle now,” Trump said during a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Turnberry.
He added he believed the talks in Malaysia marked a step toward de-escalation.
Cambodia and Thailand have traded accusations of artillery attacks in the hours since Trump said both countries had agreed to hash out a ceasefire.
The attacks on Sunday came after both sides said they were willing to start talks to end the fighting over their border dispute after Trump spoke to their leaders late on Saturday.
Four days after the worst fighting in more than a decade broke out between the Southeast Asian neighbours, the death toll stood above 30, including 13 civilians in Thailand and eight in Cambodia.
More than 200,000 people have also been evacuated from border areas in the two countries, authorities said.
Cambodia said it fully endorsed Trump’s call for an immediate ceasefire. Thailand, on the other hand, said that while it was grateful to Trump, it could not begin talks while Cambodia was targeting its civilians, a claim Phnom Penh denied.
“We have proposed a bilateral between our foreign ministers to conclude the conditions for a ceasefire and drawing back troops and long-range weapons,” Phumtham told reporters before heading off to visit border areas.
Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence said Thailand shelled and launched ground assaults on a number of points along the border. The ministry’s spokesperson said heavy artillery was fired at historic temple complexes.
The Thai army, meanwhile, said Cambodian forces fired shots into several areas, including near civilian homes early on Sunday, and were mobilising long-range rocket launchers.
“Both governments today … blaming the other side for initiating the attacks, saying they both want a ceasefire but the other side has to meet certain conditions first… We are reaching this sort of deadlock where neither side is able to stand back,” Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng said, reporting from the Thai province of Surin along the Thai-Cambodia border.
“We just checked in with some contacts on the border. They say they are still hearing exchanges of artillery fire. There were heavy barrages going in from Thailand, most of it from the Thai side going across into Cambodia, but some … rockets coming back in exchange.”
Thailand and Cambodia have bickered for decades over undemarcated points along their 817km (508-mile) land border with ownership of the ancient Hindu temples of Ta Moan Thom and the 11th-century Preah Vihear central to the dispute.
Preah Vihear was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962, but tensions escalated in 2008 after Cambodia tried to list it as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and skirmishes over several years killed at least a dozen people.
Ceasefire push
Trump on Saturday said he had spoken with Phumtham and Hun Manet and they agreed to meet immediately to quickly work out a ceasefire to end the fighting, which began on Thursday.
“Both Parties are looking for an immediate Ceasefire and Peace,” Trump wrote on social media, adding that tariff negotiations with both countries were on hold until the fighting stopped.
Hun Manet said his foreign minister, Prak Sokhonn, will speak with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to coordinate with the Thais and warned Bangkok against reneging on any agreement.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also urged both sides on Saturday to “immediately agree to a ceasefire” and hold talks to find a lasting solution.
As fighting continues, those evacuated from areas along the border in both countries are being “relatively well cared for” at evacuation centres, Cheng said.
“They’ve got basic things like food, water, a little bit of bedding, but they came with virtually nothing, and they don’t know if they’re going to be here for days, weeks or even months,” he said from a centre in Surin, where 3,000 people are staying.
Civilians on both sides are urging for a ceasefire to be implemented soon.
“For me, I think it is great if Thailand agreed to stop fighting so both countries can live with peace,” said Phnom Penh university student Sreung Nita.
Thavorn Toosawan, a resident of Sisaket in northeastern Thailand, said, “If there is a ceasefire, things will be better”, adding, “It’s great that America is insisting on the ceasefire because it would bring peace.”
