BANGKOK: The military chiefs of Thailand and Cambodia will meet on Thursday (May 29), both governments said, after a Cambodian soldier was killed in a border clash.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra told reporters on Thursday that “both sides should remain calm and discuss to see what we can agree”, and called for peaceful discussion.
Her Cambodian counterpart Hun Manet wrote on Facebook that he hoped the meeting between the two army commanders “will yield positive results”.
Thai Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told journalists the talks will be held on Thursday afternoon, adding that there had been a “misunderstanding by both sides”.
A Cambodian soldier was killed on Wednesday during an exchange of gunfire with the Thai army at the border, a Cambodian army spokesman said.
His death – a rare fatality along the long-sensitive frontier – came after Cambodian and Thai leaders attended a Southeast Asian summit where the regional ASEAN grouping vowed greater cooperation.
Thailand’s military said Wednesday that its soldiers fired in response to gunshots from Cambodia’s border force, leading to an exchange lasting around 10 minutes before the Thai side said the Cambodians requested a ceasefire.
Cambodian Royal Army spokesman Mao Phalla confirmed the clash on Wednesday, but said Thai soldiers had attacked Cambodian troops who were on border patrol duty in northern Preah Vihear province.
“Our soldier died in the trenches. The Thais came to attack us,” Mao Phalla said.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/thai-cambodian-army-chiefs-meet-over-border-clash-5158431
