ASEAN will meet with Malaysia to try to resolve the situation between Thailand and Cambodia
The goal of Monday’s Southeast Asian foreign ministers’ meeting in Malaysia is to put a stop to border confrontations between Thailand and Cambodia, which have resulted in at least 40 fatalities and over half a million displaced people this month.
This year’s ASEAN chair, Malaysia, and U.S. President Donald Trump mediated a brief ceasefire, which the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ ministers will attempt to extend.
The conference in Kuala Lumpur, which is the first in-person meeting between the countries since the violence erupted on December 8, is planned to include ASEAN nations Thailand and Cambodia.
Both Bangkok and Phnom Penh blame each other for actions that resulted in the collapse of the ceasefire in July and a broader peace agreement in October. Many of the long-disputed areas along their 817-kilometer (508-mile) land border, from coastal provinces to forested inland districts near Laos, have seen intense fire exchanges.
Malaysian PM ‘Cautiously Optimistic’
The U.S. and China have conducted independent diplomatic efforts to settle the dispute in addition to the regional drive for peace, but there have been no indications of success thus far.
Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that the ASEAN conference, which is being hosted by Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan, will examine what ASEAN can do to help de-escalate the situation and put a stop to the conflict.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he hoped the conference will allow Thailand and Cambodia to have frank discussions, work out their differences, and find a just and long-lasting settlement.
After speaking with both prime ministers, Anwar stated on X on Sunday, “I emphasized the importance for Cambodia and Thailand to uphold the spirit of dialogue, wisdom, and mutual respect in order to end the tensions and maintain peace and stability in this region.”
Last week, he told reporters that both Cambodian Premier Hun Manet and Thai caretaker Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul were “keen to achieve an amicable resolution as soon as possible” and that he was “cautiously optimistic” about the meeting’s outcome.
Results from field observations and data collected by U.S.-provided satellite monitoring technology will be presented to the foreign ministers by an ASEAN team. Anwar made a social media post.
Thailand has stopped fuel supplies via a border post in Laos and conducted airstrikes on military installations in Cambodia because of concerns that the shipments were being diverted to Cambodia.
Cambodia has been firing rockets at civilian areas and dropping explosives on Thai sites with drones, according to the Thai army.
