Thailand and Cambodia make progress towards peace deal, Thai defence minister says

BANGKOK: Talks between Thailand and Cambodia this week have made “meaningful progress”, Thai defense minister Natthaphon Narkphanit said on Thursday, ahead of the potential signing of a broader ceasefire agreement between the two countries on Sunday.

U.S. President Donald Trump is also expected to witness the signing of the ceasefire deal on the sidelines of an ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s foreign minister said last week.

Thai and Cambodian officials have been meeting all week to thrash out the details of the agreement to ease hostilities, after border tensions between the two countries exploded into a deadly five-day conflict in July.

The five-day war killed at least 48 people and temporarily displaced hundreds of thousands on both sides in what was the worst fighting between the two countries in decades.

An initial ceasefire brokered in Malaysia with U.S. involvement was signed on July 28.

The two countries have already reached a consensus in four areas, Natthaphon said at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur after one of the meetings, which also included observers from the United States and Malaysia.

This includes an action plan to withdraw heavy weapons from border areas, joint de-mining operation procedures, and a coordinated plan to tackle cyber scams, including the formation of a joint task force, he said.

Another agreement reached in a separate meeting involves a joint survey of the border region between Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province and Cambodia’s Bantheay Meanchey, the minister said.

The area is where Thai police clashed with Cambodian protesters last month.

Thailand will also build border fences in non-disputed areas, Natthaphon added.

“We want to see clear progress in all the areas that I have mentioned before we consider ceasing hostilities towards each other,” he said.

Cambodia’s deputy prime minister and defense minister Tea Seiha said in a statement that these agreements will lead to the signing of a peace deal between the two countries, scheduled to be signed on Sunday in Kuala Lumpur.

He said the agreement demonstrates “a shared spirit of building mutual trust and confidence, and a firm commitment to improving relations and achieving a return to normalcy between the two countries.”

The signing of the peace agreement will also pave the way for the release of 18 Cambodian soldiers detained by Thailand after the fighting in July, Tea Seiha said.