“IT IS SAFE”
Thai foreign ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura told reporters in Bangkok that the meeting venue was “being discussed right now”.
“The talks will last over two days, with technical groups first,” he said on Tuesday.
Thai defence minister Nattaphon Narkphanit suggested the meeting was set to go ahead on Wednesday in Thailand, but also sought to allay any concerns from his Cambodian counterpart.
“The meeting will be held in Chanthaburi … where there’s barely any fighting. It is safe,” Nattaphon told reporters before a Cabinet meeting.
He said the last meeting of the joint General Border Committee was held in Cambodia’s Koh Kong province, so it was Thailand’s turn to host, adding that there was nothing to fear as Thais could separate military and diplomatic matters.
“I would like to tell Cambodia to trust us on safety,” Nattaphon said, adding it would be held near the border with Cambodia.
But the defence minister also said Thai forces would keep fighting as long as Cambodia did, and combat that stretches along nearly the entirety of the border has so far only calmed in parts of two provinces.
Cambodia said Thailand launched air strikes on its territory on Monday, shortly after Bangkok announced the two nations had agreed to hold the bilateral talks.
Cambodian defence ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata told reporters that combat was ongoing on Tuesday morning.
The ministry said in a statement that Thai forces shelled the Cambodian border city of Poipet.
“PRETTY GOOD SHAPE”
Each side has blamed the other for instigating the fresh fighting and traded accusations of attacks on civilians, after five days of clashes in July killed dozens.
The United States, China and Malaysia brokered a truce to end that round of fighting, but the ceasefire was short-lived.
In October, US President Donald Trump backed a follow-on joint declaration between Thailand and Cambodia, touting new trade deals after they agreed in Kuala Lumpur to prolong their truce.
But Thailand suspended the agreement the following month.
Trump on Monday referred again to the conflict between Cambodia and Thailand as one of the eight wars he had “solved” around the world.
“Thailand is starting to shape up. You know, they started with Cambodia, they started up again,” he told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
“But I think … we have that in pretty good shape, to have that stopped.”
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/cambodia-thailand-border-conflict-malaysia-talks-5676521
