Regional nations urge peaceful end to Thai-Cambodia border clashes

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Regional nations are making increased calls on Thailand and Cambodia to end the deadly border clashes and resort to peace and dialogue.

After China said it was “mediating” between the two Southeast Asian nations, Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi Friday urged both Cambodia and Thailand to “exercise maximum restraint,” expressing hope that the tensions “will be eased peacefully through dialogue.”

Takeshi made comments during a phone call with Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhonn, according to a Japanese Foreign Ministry statement.

At least 16 people, including 15 Thais and a Cambodian, have been killed since the two sides launched cross-border attacks, including airstrikes and rocket fire, on Thursday. The intermittent clashes continued on the second day.

Dozens have been injured, while thousands of people have been displaced on the two sides of the border.

According to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, Prak Sokhonn expressed Cambodia’s “desire for a swift return to normalcy.”

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, on Thursday spoke to his Thai and Cambodian counterparts, Phumtham Wechayachai and Hun Manet, respectively, and later said both parties showed a willingness to de-escalate.

China’s top diplomat at the UN, Fu Cong, said Thursday that Beijing was “mediating between the two sides, and we do hope that the situation can stabilize as soon as possible.”

“Both Cambodia and Thailand are good neighbors of China and of each other, and they are also very important members of the ASEAN, which has a long tradition of settling their differences through peaceful means. We do hope that this time around, peace can prevail again,” Fu said.

The two Southeast Asian neighbors have accused each other of initiating the fire and launching aggression along the disputed border, causing the latest military escalation.

South Korea and the Philippines also urged the two sides to end the conflict through peaceful means.

Soon after the armed conflict began on Thursday, Cambodia sought "urgent" intervention by the UN Security Council, which is set to meet Friday at 3:00 p.m. New York time.

Cambodia and Thailand have downgraded diplomatic ties to their lowest level in decades after tensions between the two countries began rising on May 28, when troops exchanged fire near the border, resulting in the death of a Cambodian soldier.

The two Southeast Asian neighbors have a disputed border lying across Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province and the northeastern province of Ubon Ratchathani in Thailand.