Cambodia and Thailand have agreed to let observers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) monitor a delicate ceasefire, brokered by Malaysia, that halted five days of deadly border clashes last month.
After four days of talks in Kuala Lumpur, Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Seiha and Thailand’s acting Defence Minister Nattaphon Narkphanit pledged to maintain a freeze on troop movements and border patrols. The agreement follows decades of disputes over the countries’ 817km (508-mile) undemarcated land border, with the latest flare-up triggered by a landmine blast that injured five Thai soldiers. The fighting that followed claimed at least 43 lives.
Under the new arrangement, each country will set up an interim observer team, coordinated by ASEAN chair Malaysia, while preparations for a formal monitoring mission are underway.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed the deal as “an important step forward” in securing the truce, adding that President Donald Trump expects both governments to fully honour their commitments. The ceasefire, declared on July 28, came after Trump warned he would withhold trade deals if hostilities continued — a move followed by Washington lowering tariffs on goods from both countries from 36 to 19 percent this month.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet went a step further on Thursday, nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, praising his “extraordinary statesmanship” in preventing “a potentially devastating conflict.”
The truce’s early days were rocky, with both sides trading accusations of ceasefire violations and breaches of international humanitarian law. A key unresolved issue remains the fate of 18 Cambodian soldiers captured just hours after the ceasefire began. While Cambodia alleges mistreatment, Thai authorities insist they are “prisoners of war” to be freed only when the conflict officially ends.
Tensions between the two neighbours have simmered since May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a border confrontation, sparking a diplomatic rift and stirring political unrest in Thailand.
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