PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has expressed his concern over reports of clashes between Cambodian and Thai forces along their border.
Anwar said the renewed fighting could jeopardise the delicate groundwork laid to steady relations between the two neighbours.
He also offered his condolences to the families of those killed or injured.
"Thailand and Cambodia are close partners of Malaysia and key members of Asean.
"We urge both sides to exercise maximum restraint, maintain open channels of communication and make full use of the mechanisms in place," he said in a Facebook post on Monday (Dec 8).
Anwar said Malaysia stands ready to support any measures to help restore calm and avert further incidents.
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He said the region cannot afford to see long-standing disputes slip into cycles of confrontation.
According to Anwar, the immediate priority is to stop the fighting, safeguard civilians, and return to a diplomatic path supported by international law and the neighbourly spirit upon which Asean depends.
On Oct 26, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet signed a peace deal, known as the KL Peace Accord, on the sidelines of the 47th Asean Summit, with Anwar and US President Donald Trump as witnesses.
Last month, Thailand suspended the ceasefire deal and demanded an apology over allegations that Cambodia had laid fresh landmines, which its neighbour denied.
Four Thai soldiers were reported injured after a PMN-2 landmine exploded during a patrol in Sisaket province, with one losing his right leg.
Long-running tensions over a disputed border between the two South-East Asian nations erupted into five days of fighting in July, when at least 48 people were killed and an estimated 300,000 temporarily displaced.
Earlier Monday, the Thai military said it had launched air strikes along its disputed border with Cambodia.
In a statement, it said that at least one Thai soldier has been killed and four wounded in fresh clashes that broke out around two areas in the easternmost province of Ubon Ratchathani, after its troops reportedly came under Cambodian fire.
Cambodia's defence ministry said in a statement that the Thai military had launched dawn attacks on its forces at two locations, following days of provocative actions, and added that Cambodian troops had not retaliated.
