Southeast Asian ministers meet in Malaysia to address Thailand-Cambodia border conflict

BANGKOK (AP) — Southeast Asian foreign ministers gathered Monday in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur for a special meeting to discuss an ongoing border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia that escalated into deadly combat two weeks ago.

The meeting marked the second time this year that the regional Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, served as a platform to promote de-escalation between its two member states.

The new fighting derailed a ceasefire promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump, which ended five days of combat in July.

The agreement was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through under pressure from Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. The ceasefire was formalized with more detail at an October regional summit in Malaysia attended by Trump.

The fighting has drawn international concern. The U.S. Department of State on Sunday released a statement calling for Thailand and Cambodia to “end hostilities, withdraw heavy weapons, cease emplacement of landmines, and fully implement the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords, which include mechanisms to accelerate humanitarian demining and address border issues.”

Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said on social media Sunday that he spoke with the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and conveyed “Thailand’s strong intention to work toward a ceasefire and outlined our clear path forward.”

Thailand will engage constructively at Monday’s meeting in Kuala Lumpur, he said.

Cambodia’s Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn plans to attend the meeting, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Sunday, reaffirming its position of “resolving differences and disputes through all peaceful means, dialogue and diplomacy.”

The fighting is a result of a dispute over patches of territory claimed by both nations along their shared border.

The latest round of fighting began Dec. 8, a day after a border skirmish wounded two Thai soldiers. Since then combat has broken out on several fronts, with Thailand carrying out airstrikes in Cambodia with F-16 fighter jets and Cambodia firing thousands of medium-range BM-21 rockets from truck-mounted launchers that can launch up to 40 rockets simultaneously.

More than two dozen people on both sides of the border have officially been reported killed in the past week of fighting, while more than half a million have been displaced, according to officials.

Under the October truce Thailand was to to release 18 Cambodian soldiers held prisoner and both sides were to begin removing heavy weapons and land mines along the border. But the two countries have carried on a bitter propaganda war with minor cross-border violence.

Land mine explosions have been a particularly sensitive issue for Thailand, which has lodged several protests after alleging Cambodia laid new mines that wounded soldiers patrolling the frontier. Cambodia insists the mines were remnants of its decades-long civil war, which ended in 1999.

The Thai navy said Sunday one of its marines on the front line sustained serious injuries to his right leg from stepping on a land mine.

The navy also claimed to have discovered a large number of abandoned weapons and explosive ordnance while securing an area described as a Cambodian stronghold, which showed “deliberate planning and intentional use of anti-personnel landmines” against Thai troops.

The Thai Foreign Ministry said it would send letters of protest to Cambodia and Zambia, the current chair of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, also known as the Ottawa Convention, to pursue further action under the convention’s mechanisms.

Cambodia did not immediately respond to the Thai claims.