Sisaket, Thailand/Phnom Penh, Cambodia – Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to have Malaysia act as a mediator in their border conflict, Malaysia’s foreign minister said Sunday, as both sides said the other had launched more artillery attacks across disputed areas.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manit and Acting Thai Prime Minister Phumttam Wichaithai are expected to arrive in Malaysia on Monday evening, Foreign Minister Mohamed Hassan told state news agency Bernama.
“They have complete confidence in Malaysia and asked me to be a mediator,” Mohammed said, adding that he had spoken with his Cambodian and Thai counterparts, and they agreed not to involve any other country in the case.
The talks in Malaysia come after Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, chairman of the ASEAN Regional Forum, proposed a ceasefire on Friday, and US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the two leaders had agreed to work toward a ceasefire.
Four days after the worst fighting in more than a decade erupted between the two Southeast Asian neighbors, the death toll has surpassed 30, including 13 civilians in Thailand and eight in Cambodia. Authorities reported the evacuation of more than 200,000 people from the border areas between the two countries.
