Thailand and Cambodia: Ministers from Southeast Asia gather in Malaysia to discuss the border dispute between

Thailand and Cambodia: In an effort to stop the fatal border battles between Thailand and Cambodia, which continued despite regional and international diplomacy, Southeast Asian foreign ministers convened Monday in Malaysia for crisis talks.

According to authorities, renewed violence this month has displaced over 900,000 people on both sides and killed at least 22 people in Thailand and 19 in Cambodia.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) chair Malaysia said it hopes the Kuala Lumpur negotiations would lead to a permanent truce between the two bloc members.

In his opening remarks, Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan called on the rival neighbors and other ASEAN officials to “give this matter our most urgent attention.”

“We must consider the wider ramifications of the continued escalation of the situation for the people we serve,” Mohamad said.

Anwar Ibrahim, the prime minister of Malaysia, said this week that ASEAN’s responsibility “is to present the facts, but more importantly, to press upon them (Thailand and Cambodia) that it is imperative for them to secure peace.”

At the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, Chatchai Bangchuad, the secretary-general of Thailand’s National Security Council, appreciated international efforts but maintained that “the process should be bilateral between Thailand and Cambodia.”

According to the defense ministry of Phnom Penh, Thailand fired artillery munitions into Cambodian territory early on Monday, causing one civilian to be wounded.

A precarious ceasefire brokered by the US, China, and Malaysia after five days of fighting in July was destroyed by the bloodshed.

After they decided to extend the ceasefire, US President Donald Trump supported a follow-up statement in October that highlighted trade agreements.

Claiming self-defense and exchanging allegations of assaults on civilians, each side has accused the other of starting the conflicts.

Both Thailand and Cambodia stated on Sunday that the meeting on Monday may help ease tensions.

It has been confirmed by both nations that their senior diplomats would attend the summit.

“Peaceful means”

“Cambodia will reaffirm its firm position of resolving differences and disputes through all peaceful means, dialogue and diplomacy,” Phnom Penh said.

Bangkok’s demands for talks, including that Cambodia declare a ceasefire first and assist with border demining, were restated by Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maratee.

Reporters were informed by the spokesperson that these requirements “will guide our interaction in the discussions tomorrow in Kuala Lumpur”.

A “ceasefire can only be achieved when it is based primarily on the Thai military’s assessment of the situation on the ground,” according to the Thai government, which offered no assurance that the meeting would result in a truce.

Washington anticipated for a fresh truce by early this week, according to remarks made by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week.

This month, Trump, who assisted in mediating a previous ceasefire, said that Thailand and Cambodia had decided to put an end to hostilities.

Conflicts lasted for two weeks and expanded to almost all border provinces on both sides of the border, although Bangkok denied any such agreement.

A territorial disagreement over the delineation of their 800-kilometer (500-mile) boundary during the colonial period and a scattering of ancient temple remains on the border are the root causes of the war.