China hosts trilateral talks in bid to cement Thailand-Cambodia truce
Top diplomat Wang Yi to meet Thai and Cambodian counterparts as Beijing seeks to solidify its role as international mediator
At Wang’s invitation, his Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhonn and Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow will meet in the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan, according to the Chinese government.
The announcement on Saturday came hours after Phnom Penh and Bangkok signed a joint statement in which they agreed to an “immediate” ceasefire with effect from noon on Saturday local time, halting about three weeks of fighting that had spread to almost every border province on both sides, leaving at least 47 people dead and more than a million displaced.
The Chinese foreign ministry said on Saturday that Beijing welcomed the truce reached between Thailand and Cambodia and was committed to helping the two neighbours engage in “fuller and more detailed communication”.
Representatives of the three countries’ militaries would also take part in the Yunnan talks from Sunday to Monday, the ministry said in a statement.
“China will play a constructive role in its own way for Cambodia and Thailand to consolidate the ceasefire, resume exchanges, rebuild political trust, achieve a turnaround in bilateral relations and uphold regional peace,” the ministry added.
The trilateral meeting follows separate phone calls Wang held with his Cambodian and Thai counterparts 10 days earlier, after the Cambodia-Thailand border conflict flared up again on December 7.
During the calls, the Chinese foreign minister said that as a friend and close neighbour of both Phnom Penh and Bangkok, Beijing did not want to see the two countries engage in military conflict and was “deeply saddened by the civilian casualties caused by the conflict”.
“The pressing task now is to make a decisive move, cease fire as soon as possible, prevent further losses and rebuild mutual trust,” Wang was quoted as saying in a foreign ministry statement on December 18.
Chinese special envoy for Asian affairs Deng Xijun visited both Cambodia and Thailand in six days of shuttle diplomacy that concluded on Tuesday.
During his tour, Deng met separately with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, as well as the two countries’ top diplomats and defence chiefs.
The Chinese envoy told Cambodian and Thai officials that China was willing to “once again create conditions and provide a platform for dialogue and negotiations between the two sides”.
In July, Cambodia and Thailand slid into deadly border hostilities over long-running territorial disputes. The conflict paused briefly under an October ceasefire agreement signed in Malaysia, a deal US President Donald Trump claimed credit for. The truce was broken within weeks as the two sides accused each other of violations and resumed fighting.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington welcomed the latest ceasefire.
“We urge Cambodia and Thailand to immediately honour this commitment and fully implement the terms of the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords,” Rubio said in a statement on Saturday.
The Thai foreign ministry confirmed the Beijing-brokered trilateral consultation in Yunnan, adding that Phuangketkeow and Wang would also hold bilateral talks.
“The meetings are expected to discuss the latest developments concerning the Thailand-Cambodia situation … with a view to ensuring a sustained ceasefire and promoting lasting peace between the two countries,” the Thai ministry said.
In its own statement, the Cambodian foreign ministry said that the trilateral session “aims to facilitate candid and constructive exchanges on the current situation between Cambodia and Thailand, with a view to fostering mutual confidence, promoting de-escalation and restoring peace, security and stability along the Cambodia-Thailand border areas”.