Beijing, Dec 25, (dpa/GNA) – The foreign ministers of Thailand and Cambodia, have arrived in China for talks, after the neighbouring nations agreed to a ceasefire following weeks of border clashes, officials said on Sunday.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi is holding the meeting on Sunday and Monday in the south-western Chinese province of Yunnan, the state news agency Xinhua reported, citing the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Representatives of the armed forces of China, Thailand and Cambodia are also to join the consultations, in a bid to consolidate the agreed ceasefire, resume exchanges and build political trust between the two neighbouring countries.
China seeks to provide a platform for this and play a constructive role in stabilizing bilateral relations, it said.
China’s invitation comes a day after Thailand and Cambodia agreed to an immediate ceasefire, with the defence ministers of both countries signing a joint statement to end the bloodshed.
The ceasefire agreement stipulates that it will be monitored and observed for a period of 72 hours to ensure its implementation, the Thai Foreign Ministry said.
The ceasefire initially appeared to be holding, reports said on Sunday.
Numerous residents displaced by the violence have already returned to their home villages on the border, the Bangkok Post newspaper reported.
Since the beginning of December, more than 100 people have died in clashes at multiple points along the 800-kilometre Thai-Cambodian border, including several dozen civilians.
More than half a million residents on both sides were forced to flee their homes, as the countries accused each other of shelling civilian areas – claims that both denied.
Previously there were heavy clashes in July, ending after a few days with a ceasefire. In October, the two sides agreed to withdraw heavy weapons from the border area and to conduct joint demining work.
However, the truce was suspended in November following a new incident, and tensions escalated further after a border skirmish early in December. Fighting resumed at multiple locations along the frontier.
The ceasefire in the summer was achieved thanks to Anwar’s mediation and pressure from US President Donald Trump, who had threatened trade sanctions.
Conflict dates back to colonial times
The conflict has been smouldering for decades and has its origins in the colonial era in the 19th century. Some of the borders then arbitrarily drawn by France are still a source of disputes today.
At the heart of the conflict is the Preah Vihear temple, a structure dating back to the Khmer Empire.
Although the International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the temple belongs to Cambodia, Thailand has repeatedly claimed territorial rights to the temple and the surrounding border area.
At the same time, the conflict between the two states is also fuelled by domestic political interests and growing nationalism. Politicians on both sides are using the fighting to consolidate their own support.
The populations of Cambodia and Thailand are both predominantly Buddhist. Thailand has a population of just under 72 million, while Cambodia has between 17 and 18 million people.
There is also a significant economic imbalance between the two countries: Thailand’s gross domestic product per capita is more than two and a half times higher than Cambodia’s.
GNA