THE nation has urged Thailand to resume talks as soon as possible on their disputed border, a long-standing disagreement that led to deadly clashes last year.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said on Saturday that he “strongly hopes” the two neighbours will be able to work together “quickly and with sincerity”.
“This will be a foundation for long-lasting peace that would allow our people living along a shared border to live peacefully. Cambodia is fully ready,” he said in a statement posted on social media.
Thailand’s Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said earlier Saturday that his country was not ready to resume talks, even though a new government had just been formed.
When asked about Cambodia’s renewed call for negotiations, he said it had the “right” to do so but that Thailand had its “own procedures” to follow.
The two South-East Asian countries have been at odds for decades over the demarcation of their 800km (500-mile) border, a legacy of the French colonial era.
The dispute erupted into several rounds of clashes last year, killing dozens of people and displacing more than a million in July and December.
Both countries signed a ceasefire agreement in late December that allows for border talks.
But tensions on the frontier remain, with both sides trading accusations of truce violations.
Cambodia claims Thai forces captured several areas in border provinces – contrary to their agreement – and has demanded their withdrawal. — AFP
