Cambodia and Thailand have each accused the other of aggression and violations of an enhanced ceasefire reached in October in Malaysia in Trump’s presence, during which they committed to demining and withdrawing troops and heavy weapons from areas over which sovereignty has been contested bitterly for decades.
Thai and Cambodian military representatives opened formal negotiations on Wednesday, authorities in both countries said, as the two sides seek to revive a ceasefire after more than two weeks of intense fighting along their border that has left at least 86 people dead.
The discussions follow a meeting held in Kuala Lumpur earlier this week, where foreign ministers from Southeast Asia attempted to rescue a fragile truce first arranged after clashes in July by ASEAN chair Malaysia and U.S. President Donald Trump.
According to Thai Defence Ministry spokesman Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, the session of the General Border Committee is scheduled to run for three days and could create the conditions for a broader agreement.
The talks are taking place at a checkpoint near the southern stretch of the countries’ shared 817-kilometre (508-mile) boundary.
Surasant said that if the current round of talks produces a positive outcome at the secretariat level, defence ministers from Thailand and Cambodia are expected to meet on December 27.
Cambodian defence ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata said the meeting began at 4:30 p.m. local time (0930 GMT) and is being led by senior generals from both militaries.
The negotiations mark the most substantive engagement since hostilities flared again, following earlier but unsuccessful mediation attempts by Malaysia, China and the United States.
Both countries have traded accusations of aggression and of breaching an enhanced ceasefire agreed in Malaysia in October in the presence of President Trump. That deal included commitments to clear landmines and to pull back troops and heavy weapons from long-disputed border areas, where sovereignty claims have remained unresolved for decades.
In the run-up to Wednesday’s talks, Thailand and Cambodia have continued clashing, with both sides fighting at multiple points since early December, stretching from forested regions near Laos to the coastal provinces of the Gulf of Thailand.
At least 21 civilians have been in killed in Cambodia since the fighting, and more than half a million people displaced, according to national authorities. In Thailand, at least 65 people have lost their lives, with over 150,000 evacuated from their homes.
Cambodia’s defence ministry on Wednesday accused Thailand of using fighter jets to drop bombs in its border province of Banteay Meanchey, describing the actions as ”brutal” and indiscriminate.
Thailand, on the other hand, said its neighbour continued to fire heavy weapons into civilian areas in Sa Kaeo province on Wednesday, prompting Thai troops to retaliate.
With inputs from agencies
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