Acting Thai Premier Phumtham Wechayachai accuses Cambodia of ‘not acting in good faith’ as talks begin in Kuala Lumpur.
Clashes have continued in several areas along Thailand’s disputed border with Cambodia, as fighting between the two sides entered its fifth day just hours before scheduled ceasefire talks.
Leaders of the two warring Southeast Asian countries are scheduled to hold ceasefire talks in Malaysia starting at 07:00 GMT on Monday, in a bid to halt fighting that has killed at least 35 people and displaced more than 270,000 from both sides of the border.
Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet are due to meet in Kuala Lumpur for talks. China is also expected to send a delegation to the talks brokered by Malaysia and being pushed by the United States.
In a post on X on Monday, Hun said the purpose of the talks is to achieve an immediate ceasefire in the conflict with Thailand.
However, Phumtham, before departing Bangkok on Monday, told reporters: “We do not believe Cambodia is acting in good faith, based on their actions in addressing the issue. They need to demonstrate genuine intent, and we will assess that during the meeting.”
Meanwhile, Thai army spokesperson Colonel Richa Suksuwanon told reporters on Monday that fighting continues along the border, as gunfire could be heard at dawn in Samrong in Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province, The Associated Press news agency reported.
On Sunday, Thailand said one person was killed and another injured after Cambodia fired a rocket in Sisaket province.
Thailand’s military also reported that Cambodian snipers were camping in one of the contested temples, and accused Phnom Penh of surging troops along the border and hammering Thai territory with rockets.
Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence spokeswoman Maly Socheata on Monday accused Thailand of deploying “a lot of troops” and firing “heavy weapons” into the Cambodian territory.
Socheata claimed that before dawn on Monday, the Thai military targeted areas near the ancient Ta Muen Thom and the Ta Kwai temples, which Cambodia claims are its territory but are being disputed by Thailand.
She also accused the Thai military of firing smoke bombs from aircraft over Cambodian territory and heavy weapons at its soldiers, adding that Cambodian troops “were able to successfully repel the attacks”.
Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng, reporting from Thailand’s border province of Surin, said the mediators have been “very reluctant” to acknowledge the holding of talks in the Malaysian capital.
“The Malaysian Foreign Ministry was incredibly nervous. Last week, they had said that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had brokered a peace deal only to be shot down very quickly by the Thai Foreign Ministry,” Cheng said.
Still, Cheng said a mounting death toll and the number of displaced people could give the two leaders the “motivation” to resolve the crisis peacefully.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday said US officials “are on the ground in Malaysia to assist these peace efforts”, while Anwar told domestic media he would focus on securing an “immediate ceasefire”.
