Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur (AP)After a tense ceasefire was mediated last week following five days of deadly armed border skirmishes that left over 260,000 people displaced and dozens dead, Thai and Cambodian officials convened in Malaysia on Monday for the first round of cross-border committee negotiations.
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Cambodia was originally scheduled to host the four-day General Border Committee sessions, but both parties ultimately decided on a neutral location in Malaysia, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ annual chair, which helped mediate the ceasefire last month.
The July 28 ceasefirefollowed economic pressure from U.S. PresidentDonald Trump, who had warned the two warring nations that the U.S. would not conclude trade deals with them if the fighting persisted. Following the truce, on August 1, Washington reduced taxes on commodities from the two nations from 36% to 19%.
Monday session concentrated on resolving issues to prevent future conflicts. There will be no discussion of the long-standing, conflicting territorial claims over the areas close to the shared border.
For ages, Thailand and Cambodia have been at odds with one another since they were both powerful empires. Relations reached a new low point in the modern era when the International Court of Justice awarded Cambodia the land where the historic Preah Vihear temple now stands in 1962. Both countries continued to claim other border territories.
After fighting broke out in Preah Vihaer in 2011, the International Court of Justice ranked Thailand in 2013 after upholding its previous decision. When a Cambodian soldier was shot dead in a brief altercation in one of the disputed border zones in May of this year, diplomatic and trade sanctions were triggered, one against the other, precipitating yet another severe decline in relations.
Following two events last month in which land mines in disputed territory injured Thai soldiers, for which Thailand blamed Cambodia, diplomatic relations between the two countries were downgraded, and violence broke out. Both sides blamed the other for initiating the violent conflicts.
According to Malaysian Chief of Defense Forces Gen. Mohamad Nizam Jaffar, the discussions this week would involve settling on the specifics and parameters of an ASEAN monitoring team.
According to Nizam, both sides shown a strong commitment to upholding the ceasefire at Monday’s talks, despite some reports of strikes following the truce’s implementation.
Thai Deputy Defense Minister Gen. Natthaphon Nakpanit and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister/Defense Minister Tea Seih will chair the General Border Committee’s main session on Thursday, which will also have observers from China, Malaysia, and the US, according to officials.
Tensions have remained despite the truce as both nations have arranged for foreign diplomats and other observers to tour the former combat zones in order to draw attention to purported damage by the opposing side. The two nations also keep accusing one another of using illicit weapons and attacking civilians in violation of international humanitarian law.
