S’pore urges Thailand, Cambodia to de-escalate situation and resume talks: Vivian Balakrishnan

SINGAPORE - Singapore welcomes the convening of the Thailand-Cambodia General Border Committee meeting on Dec 24, said Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

It will be a meeting of defence officials from both countries towards resuming a ceasefire, after at least 80 people were killed as

the border clashes

entered a third week.

Dr Balakrishnan’s comments came after an ASEAN meeting in Kuala Lumpur between foreign ministers on the current situation between Cambodia and Thailand on Dec 22.

In a Facebook post on Dec 22, he said: “I urged our colleagues from both sides to de-escalate the situation, resume talks, and resolve their dispute peacefully.

“As ASEAN, our collective future is brighter only if we stand united.”

The ministers met to salvage a truce

first brokered by ASEAN chair Malaysia and US President Donald Trump

after a previous round of border clashes in July, their worst conflict in recent history.

Dr Balakrishnan added that the meeting was “an important step to discuss the resumption of the ceasefire” and that Singapore is deeply concerned about the reports of casualties in Cambodia and Thailand.

Bangkok and Phnom Penh accuse each other ‍of moves that led to the

breakdown of the truce

and an enhanced ceasefire agreed in October in Malaysia in Mr Trump’s presence, during which they committed to demining and withdrawal of troops and heavy weapons.

Heavy exchanges of fire ​have occurred in many of the long-disputed areas along ⁠their 817km-long land border, from forested inland areas near Laos to coastal provinces.

Cambodia’s Defence Ministry said Thailand had violated its sovereignty with more “armed aggression” on Dec 22, and vowed to defend what it said was its territory “at any cost”.

Thailand on the weekend accused Cambodia of seeking to fire rockets on a border town, and said a soldier had lost a leg to a landmine.

Thailand has also

accused Cambodia of laying new mines,

in violation of its international treaty commitments, an allegation Phnom Penh has rejected.