Guns fall silent on Thai-Cambodia border as commanders seek to uphold truce
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Cambodia insisted its troops had strictly abided by the ceasefire that kicked in on July 29 and continued to uphold it.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BANGKOK – A ceasefire between Cambodia and Thailand held on July 29, as military commanders from both sides met to discuss measures to maintain the truce, and some residents along the disputed frontier trickled back home after five days of intense fighting.
Cambodian and Thai leaders met in Malaysia on July 28 and agreed to halt their deadliest conflict
Border areas remained calm, Thailand’s Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters in Bangkok, although he accused Cambodian troops of violating the ceasefire early on July 29, which had been flagged in complaints to Malaysia, the United States and China.
Cambodia denied the charge, insisting its troops had strictly abided by the ceasefire since midnight and continued to uphold it, according to a statement by its Defence Minister Tea Seiha.
Despite the initial jitters, military commanders from both sides held talks and agreed to maintain the ceasefire, stop any troop movement, and facilitate the return of the wounded and dead, Thai army spokesman Winthai Suvaree said.
Each side will establish a coordinating team of four to resolve any problems, Major-General Winthai told reporters.
Further negotiations will continue at a meeting of the General Border Committee, which coordinates on border security, ceasefires and troop deployments, scheduled for Aug 4 in Cambodia, the Thai army said. The committee includes the defence ministers and senior military commanders from both countries.
In a statement, the Thai army said it detained 18 Cambodian soldiers who surrendered and provided them with basic provisions, including food and water.
Both militaries have agreed not to deploy more troops along their disputed border, said Mr Lim Menghour, director-general of the Commission on Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the National Assembly of Cambodia, who also underlined the need for international observers to monitor the ceasefire.
Malaysia’s defence chief, General Mohd Nizam Jaffar, led a delegation to Cambodia and Thailand on July 29, the Malaysian army said in a statement, while a Chinese military spokesman said Beijing will maintain close communication with both countries to help consolidate the consensus over the ceasefire.
‘Things are calm’
In Bangkok, Mr Phumtham said he had spoken to Cambodia’s Defence Minister, and calm had returned to the border area.
“There is no escalation,” he told reporters. “Right now, things are calm.”
Cambodia’s Defence Ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata insisted there had been “no armed clashes against each other in any regions”.
Vehicular traffic and daily activity resumed in the Kantharalak district of Thailand’s Sisaket province on July 29, about 30km from the front line, where Thai and Cambodian troops remain massed.
Cars and motorbikes returned to the streets, which had been largely empty since the border clashes began on July 24, with military vehicles among civilian traffic.
Mr Chaiya Phumjaroen, 51, said he returned to town to reopen his shop early on July 29, after hearing about the ceasefire deal on the news.
“I am very happy that a ceasefire happened,” he said. “If they continue to fight, we have no opportunity to make money.”
In Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province, 63-year-old Ly Kim Eng sat in front of a makeshift tarpaulin shelter, waiting for directions after hearing of the ceasefire deal.
“So, if the authorities announce it is safe for all of the refugees to return home, I will immediately return,” he said.
Talks and trade
Cambodia and Thailand have wrangled for decades over their disputed frontier, and have been on a conflict footing since the killing of a Cambodian soldier in a skirmish late in May, which led to a troop build-up on both sides and a full-blown diplomatic crisis.
The July 28 peace talks came after a sustained push
Thailand and Cambodia face a tariff of 36 per cent on their goods in the US, their biggest export market, unless a reduction can be negotiated.
After the ceasefire deal was reached, Mr Trump said that he had spoken to both leaders and had instructed his trade team to restart tariff talks.
Thailand’s Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said on July 29 that trade talks with Washington are expected to be concluded before Aug 1, and that US tariffs on the country are not expected to be as high as 36 per cent.
Thailand has estimated the initial costs of evacuation and damaged property at more than 10 billion baht (S$397 million) after the five-day border conflict with Cambodia, and is expecting the eventual economic impact to be even bigger, the minister said.
The Thai government is preparing an initial budget of 25 billion baht to mitigate the effects, Mr Pichai told reporters.
Professor Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University, said the ceasefire deal reflected a rare convergence of interests between the US and China, which also pushed for the talks, but the agreement itself remained fragile, and third-party monitoring was essential to keep it in place.
“The ceasefire agreement has to be enforced,” he said. “It cannot be left to Thailand and Cambodia to implement because the hostilities are running so deep now.” REUTERS
