Both countries, Thailand and Cambodia, decided on Saturday to end fierce border battles, termed as some of the worst in years, that have taken place between the two nations, involving fighter jets, as well as rocket and artillery exchanges.
Both sides will continue with the same level of troops, with no further movement, according to the agreement on the ceasefire, as reported by their defence ministers in a joint statement. Any form of reinforcement will only serve to increase the level of tension and would be disruptive to the long-term resolution of the situation, as stated on social media by the Ministry of Defence of Cambodia.
Fighting Killed 101 People, Displaced Half a Million
“This contract represents the combined effort of the two sides to end the fighting and to guarantee the safety of the people in the two countries, ” said the Prime Minister of Thailand, as per the report by the Associated Press. A deal of this nature was made between the Defence Ministers of the two countries, Thailand and Cambodia. The fight has been continuing for the last 20 days, and up to this point, 101 people have lost their lives in the crossfire.
The conflict was reignited early in December, following a collapse in a cease-fire agreement that had been brokered as a result of efforts from US President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
For over a century, both Cambodia and Thailand have had a disagreement over their sovereignty at some unmarked sections of their 817 km-long land boundary that have at times erupted into fights.
The ceasefire is to be monitored by an observer team from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional bloc as well as direct communication between both countries, Natthaphon said. On the other hand, at the policy level, there shall be direct communication between the minister of defence and the chief of the armed forces from both sides, he told reporters.
Trump Intervention Resulted in an earlier ceasefire
All these strains between the two nations exploded to a level where these neighbours engaged in a fight over border areas for five days in July this year. At least 48 people lost their lives, and 300, 000 were forced to flee their homes before a ceasefire was brokered by Trump.
Anyway, the truce which had stopped the fighting was broken at the beginning of December as both sides claimed that the other was responsible for the attacks. Since the renewed conflict, neither Anwar, the current head of ASEAN, nor Trump has been able to weave together an additional ceasefire, as the conflict has extended from the forested areas around Laos into the provinces on the Gulf of Thailand.
These fresh talks followed a special meeting on Monday of foreign ministers from Southeast Asian countries in Kuala Lumpur and the three days of negotiations between the warring factions at a border checkpoint that led to a meeting between the two defence ministers on Saturday.
In a joint statement, the ministers agreed on bringing back those people who had to evacuate the border areas because of the fighting. They also emphasised that neither side expects to see any violence against unarmed people. As per the deal, the return of 18 soldiers from Cambodia to Thailand is contingent upon the observance of the ceasefire for three consecutive days. These soldiers have been held by the Thai side since the incident in July.
However, it was clear from Saturday’s agreement that it would not affect any activities concerning the delimitation of borders that are currently being undertaken by both countries, thereby delegating the responsibility of solving all disputed territories on the border to bilateral mechanisms.
The conflict that ended on Saturday is the most violent that has erupted in the past few years in the two countries. Fighter planes conducted bombing missions, rocket attacks, and artillery barrages on both sides.
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