At Trump’s Urging, Thailand and Cambodia to Meet for Cease-Fire Talks – The New York Times
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Thailand and Cambodia agree to peace talks after Trump intervention – but shelling continues
Thai and Cambodian leaders will meet in Malaysia for talks to end the cross-border fighting that has seen dozens of people killed. The move comes after Donald Trump intervened, suggesting to the leaders of both countries that continued hostilities would harm their chances of getting a trade deal with the US. At least 34 people, including 13 civilians, have died, while more than 200,000 have been forced to leave their homes to escape the fighting. Both countries claim to own the ancient Ta Muen Thom temple along the border of Thailand’s Surin province and Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province.
The move comes after Donald Trump intervened, suggesting to the leaders of both countries that continued hostilities would harm their chances of getting a trade deal with the US.
He posted about the conversations on his social media platform Truth Social on Saturday and later said both sides agreed to meet to negotiate a ceasefire.
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Later on Sunday, the US’s leading diplomat, Marco Rubio, in phone calls to the foreign ministers of both countries, told them Washington was prepared to facilitate talks and urged them to de-escalate and agree to a ceasefire immediately, the state department said in a statement.
At least 34 people, including 13 civilians, have died, while more than 200,000 have been forced to leave their homes to escape the fighting, now into its fourth day.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said on Sunday his country agreed to pursue an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire”.
He said Mr Trump told him that Thailand had also agreed to halt attacks following the US leader’s conversation with Acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai.
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The Cambodian leader said it was “positive news for the soldiers and people of both countries”.
Thailand’s foreign ministry expressed cautious support, reporting that its leader told Mr Trump Thailand agreed in principle to a ceasefire while insisting on the need for “sincere intention” from its South East Asian neighbour.
He called for swift bilateral talks to discuss concrete steps toward a peaceful resolution, the ministry said.
But even as hopes for a lasting peace grew, hours later in the early hours of Sunday, each accused the other of shelling targets across the disputed border areas.
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Read more:
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Clashes before, but this time feels different – analysis
In what appeared to be a sign of immediate progress, Malaysia’s state news agency, Bernama, quoting Malaysia’s foreign minister Mohamad Hasan, said the two leaders will open peace talks in Malaysia on Monday.
The two nations have been at loggerheads over border areas for decades, and simmering tensions escalated into an exchange of gunfire, shelling and rockets on 24 July, with both sides accusing one another of initiating the violence.
Both countries recalled their ambassadors, and Thailand closed its border crossings with Cambodia.
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Relations between the pair deteriorated sharply after an armed confrontation in May that killed a Cambodian soldier. Nationalist passions on both sides have further inflamed the situation.
Both countries claim to own the ancient Ta Muen Thom temple along the border of Thailand’s Surin province and Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province, among other areas.
Thai, Cambodian leaders to meet in Malaysia on July 28 for talks on border conflict
Talks are scheduled to begin at 3pm local time at the Malaysian Prime Minister’s Office in Kuala Lumpur on July 28. Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai will lead the Thai negotiating team. Cambodia and Thailand each said the other had launched artillery attacks across contested border areas. The death toll has risen above 30, including 13 civilians in Thailand and eight in Cambodia, while the authorities report that more than 200,000 people have been evacuated. US President Donald Trump said on July 26 that the two leaders had agreed to work on a ceasefire. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on July 27 spoke to Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa and Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, and urged them to immediately de-escalate tensions. The two countries have bickered for decades over the ownership of land along their 8km-long border with Vihear, in the south of the island of Sisaket, which they share with Cambodia.
Earlier on July 27, Cambodia and Thailand each said the other had launched artillery attacks across contested border areas.
SISAKET, Thailand/PHNOM PENH – The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia will attend mediation talks over their deadly border conflict in Malaysia on July 28 , the Thai government said, even as both sides accused each other of launching fresh artillery strikes across contested areas.
Talks are scheduled to begin at 3pm local time at the Malaysian Prime Minister’s Office in Kuala Lumpur on July 28 , with Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai leading the Thai negotiating team, the Thai government announced in a statement on the night of July 27.
The meeting comes at the invitation of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Malaysia, which chairs the regional grouping Asean, has informed the Thai government that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet would also be attending the talks, the statement said.
Datuk Seri Anwar said the expected talks were to focus on an immediate ceasefire between the two fighting neighbours.
“They (government representatives of Cambodia and Thailand) have asked me to try and negotiate a peace settlement,” the Bernama national news agency quoted Mr Anwar as saying late on July 27.
“I’m discussing the parameters, the conditions, but what is important is an immediate ceasefire,” the Malaysian Premier said.
Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia have intensified since the late-May killing of a Cambodian soldier during a brief border skirmish. Border troops on both sides were reinforced amid a full-blown diplomatic crisis that brought Thailand’s fragile coalition government to the brink of collapse.
Hostilities resumed on July 24 and, within just four days, escalated into the worst fighting between the South-east Asian neighbours in more than a decade.
The death toll has risen above 30, including 13 civilians in Thailand and eight in Cambodia, while the authorities report that more than 200,000 people have been evacuated from border areas.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on July 27 spoke to Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa and Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, and urged them to immediately de-escalate tensions, according a US State Department statement.
“The United States is prepared to facilitate future discussions in order to ensure peace and stability between Thailand and Cambodia,” the statement said.
Monday’s talks come after Malaysian PM Anwar last week proposed a ceasefire and US President Donald Trump said on July 26 that the two leaders had agreed to work on a ceasefire.
In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump appeared to hold the threat of tariffs over the two countries, saying he hopes the countries will “get along for many years to come. When all is done, and peace is at hand, I look forward to concluding our trading agreements with both”.
Bangkok and Phnom Penh have each accused the other side of sparking last week’s hostilities.
Cambodia’s Defence Ministry said Thailand had shelled and launched ground assaults on Sunday morning at a number of points along the border. The ministry’s spokesperson said heavy artillery was fired at historic temple complexes.
“For me, I think it is great if Thailand agreed to stop fighting so both countries can live with peace,” Phnom Penh university student Sreung Nita told Reuters.
The Thai army said Cambodian forces had fired shots into several areas, including near civilian homes, on Sunday, and were mobilising long-range rocket launchers.
“The situation remains tense and Cambodian troops may be preparing intensified military operations to inflict maximum damage in the final stages before negotiations,” the army said in an update.
In the Thai province of Sisaket, Reuters reporters heard shelling throughout Sunday and said it was unclear which side of the border it was on.
A government health clinic about 10km from the border had shattered windows, collapsed walls and exposed wiring. Local media reported it was hit by artillery on Saturday, two days after the building and surrounding neighbourhood were evacuated.
Only a few men remained to look after their homes, camping near a makeshift bunker they had dug for protection. Intermittent sounds of artillery fire could be heard in the distance.
“It’s great that America is insisting on the ceasefire because it would bring peace,” Sisaket resident Thavorn Toosawan told Reuters.
Thailand and Cambodia have bickered for decades over undemarcated points along their 817km land border, with ownership of the ancient Hindu temples Ta Moan Thom and the 11th century Preah Vihear central to the disputes.
Preah Vihear was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962, but the situation worsened in 2008 after Cambodia attempted to list it as a Unesco World Heritage site. Skirmishes over several years brought at least a dozen deaths.
Cambodia said in June it had asked the International Court of Justice to resolve its disputes with Thailand. Bangkok says it has never recognised the court’s jurisdiction and prefers a bilateral approach. REUTERS, AFP, THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK