KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Cambodian and Thai officials met in Malaysia on Monday for the first round of cross-border committee talks since a fragile ceasefire was brokered last week after five days of deadly armed clashes along their disputed border that killed dozens and displaced over 260,000 people.
The four-day General Border Committee meetings were initially due to be hosted by Cambodia, but both sides later agreed to a neutral venue in Malaysia, the annual chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which has mediated the halt in hostilities last month.
The July 28 ceasefire followed economic pressure from US President Donald Trump, who had warned the two warring nations that the US would not conclude trade deals with them if the fighting persisted.
Washington lowered tariffs on goods from the two countries from 36 percent to 19 percent on August 1, following the truce.
Monday’s talks focused on ironing out details to avoid further clashes. Discussions of the decades-long competing territorial claims over the pockets of land near the shared border are not on the agenda, the Associated Press reported.
Thailand and Cambodia have been feuding neighbours for centuries. In modern times, a 1962 ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) awarding Cambodia the land on which the ancient Preah Vihear temple stands marked a new low point in relations, and other border territory remained claimed by both countries.
Fighting erupted in 2011 at Preah Vihaer, after which the International Court of Justice in 2013 reaffirmed its earlier ruling, rankling Thailand.
Relations deteriorated again sharply in May this year, when a Cambodian soldier was shot dead in a brief fracas in one of the disputed border zones, setting off diplomatic and trade sanctions, one against the other.
Soon after two incidents last month in which Thai soldiers were wounded by land mines in disputed territory, for which Thailand blamed Cambodia, the two sides downgraded diplomatic relations, and fighting broke out, each side blaming the other for starting the armed clashes.
The talks this week will include finalising details and scope of reference for an ASEAN monitoring team, Malaysian Chief of Defence Forces General Mohamad Nizam Jaffar said Monday, AP reported.
Despite some reports of attacks after the ceasefire came into effect, Nizam said such incidents were typical spillover violence, and both sides showed strong commitment during Monday’s talks to uphold the ceasefire.
The main session of the General Border Committee on Thursday will be led by Thai Deputy Defence Minister General Natthaphon Nakpanit and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister cum Defence Minister Tea Seih and include observers from Malaysia, the United States and China, officials said, as cited by AP.
Despite the truce, tensions have persisted as both countries organised tours of the former battle areas for foreign diplomats and other observers to highlight damage allegedly caused by the other side.
The two countries also continue to accuse each other of having violated international humanitarian laws with attacks on civilians and the use of illegal weapons.
