On December 22, Southeast Asian diplomatic ministers gathered in Malaysia with the urgent goal of ending escalating border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia. The violence that broke out this month has caused serious consequences, killing at least 40 people and forcing more than half a million people in the border area to flee their homes for shelter.
The main focus of this ASEAN summit is the effort to restore the ceasefire that was established but quickly broken before. The deal was originally mediated by Malaysia, which holds the ASEAN presidency this year, with US President Donald Trump as a mediator. The incident in Kuala Lumpur marked the first direct meeting between government representatives of the two countries since gunfire returned on December 8.
Currently, both Bangkok and Phnom Penh have repeatedly accused each other of military actions leading to the collapse of the ceasefire in July and a broader peace agreement signed in October.
Fierce clashes with strong fire have been recorded at many hot spots along the 817km long common border, stretching from the rugged mountainous areas bordering Laos to the coastal provinces.
In addition to the joint efforts of the ASEAN bloc, the US and China have also conducted individual diplomatic activities to cool down tensions but have so far not recorded clear signs of success.
The Malaysian Foreign Ministry said that the conference chaired by Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan will consider concrete steps to reduce the escalation and end the conflict. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim expressed his hope that this meeting will create conditions for Thailand and Cambodia to negotiate openly, resolve disagreements and move towards a fair and long-term solution. He emphasized the importance of maintaining the spirit of dialogue and mutual respect to protect regional stability.
At the conference, a special working group of ASEAN will present detailed reports based on field observations and data collected from satellite monitoring technology provided by the US.
Regarding the situation on the ground, the situation is still very tense as Thailand conducts airstrikes on Cambodian military positions. In contrast, the Thai military accused Cambodia of using drones to drop bombs on bases and firing rockets at civilian areas.
