Dec. 22 (UPI) — Thai and Cambodian officials plan talks next week to discuss reviving a cease-fire amid ongoing border clashes, Thailand’s foreign minister announced Monday.
The announcement arrived as border fighting continued for its third week. The two nations agreed to a U.S.-brokered cease-fire deal in July under President Donald Trump, but fighting resumed earlier this month, with each side blaming the other.
On Monday, senior officials held their first in-person talks since the clashes, meeting at a summit in Malaysia.
Thailand’s foreign minister later said the July cease-fire was rushed to meet the U.S. goal of finalizing it before Trump’s visit.
“We were sometimes in a rush because the U.S. wanted it signed by the visit of President Trump,” Sihasak Phuangketkeow told the BBC.
Phuangketkeow announced that Thai and Cambodian military officials would meet on Wednesday, a necessary step before any cease-fire deal.
Meanwhile, Cambodia has not responded.
The renewed clashes this month left at least 41 dead and displaced nearly 1 million.
On Monday, Malaysia’s foreign chief pressed members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to address the issue urgently.
“We must consider the wider ramifications of the continued escalation of the situation for the people we serve,” Mohamad Hasan said.
Both the United States and China have sought to broker a new cease-fire.
The clash marks the most severe dispute among ASEAN members since its 1967 founding, dealing a major setback to the bloc’s credibility.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Beijing has been pursuing its own approach to mediating the renewed conflict and will share details “in due course.”
The truce brokered by Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and the Trump administration collapsed by December as both nations accused each other of reigniting firing exchanges.
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