Thailand and Cambodia plan to rebuild mutual trust and gradually consolidate a ceasefire after weeks of border clashes, Beijing said in a communique with the two countries following talks.
The South-East Asian neighbours on Saturday ended weeks of fierce fighting that killed at least 101 people and displaced more than half a million with their second ceasefire since late October.
Thailand and Cambodia’s top diplomats travelled to the Chinese province of Yunnan for trilateral talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to discuss the border situation.
In a meeting with his Thai and Cambodian counterparts, Wang called the ceasefire “hard-won,” and urged the two nations not to abandon it halfway or allow fighting to resume.
“Discussions between the three parties were beneficial and constructive, and an important consensus was reached,” Wang said, according to a statement released by his ministry.
The parties involved must “look forward and move forward,” Wang added.
Thailand and Cambodia will “rebuild political mutual trust, achieve a turnaround in relations, and maintain regional peace,” according to a joint communique released by Xinhua news agency.
The latest round of clashes began early this month after a breakdown in a ceasefire that US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim helped broker on the sidelines of the Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur to halt a previous round of fighting.
“The implementation of the ceasefire agreement requires continued communication and consultation, and the restoration of bilateral relations must also proceed gradually,” Wang said yesterday. — Reuters
