The Diplomat
The Spanish government has expressed its “great concern over the renewed escalation of tensions between Thailand and Cambodia” and has called on both sides to respect the Joint Declaration adopted on October 26 in Kuala Lumpur, mediated by the United States, and to resolve their differences peacefully.
“The Spanish government continues to follow with great concern the renewed escalation of tensions between Thailand and Cambodia, which jeopardizes regional stability and has caused deaths and injuries, as well as the displacement of tens of thousands of civilians,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a press release on Wednesday, December 10.
“The government urges both sides to respect the Joint Declaration adopted on October 26 in Kuala Lumpur and to resolve their differences peacefully, including through mediation within ASEAN,” it added.
At least ten people have died as a result of renewed border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia, despite the fragile peace agreement brokered last October by US President Donald Trump.
Both the presidents of China and the US, as well as UN Secretary-General António Guterres, have called for calm from both sides. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, mediator in the conflict and chairman of ASEAN, has urged both countries to exercise “maximum restraint,” keep “channels of communication open,” and utilize “existing mechanisms” to prevent further escalation.
Donald Trump has stated that he will call the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia and use his influence to end the latest conflict. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has urged both countries to fulfill their commitments under the Kuala Lumpur Peace Agreements of October, including removing heavy weaponry from the border and organizing the removal of landmines.
This is the biggest escalation between the two countries since last July, when five days of fighting left 48 dead and 300,000 displaced. Thailand and Cambodia have had territorial disputes for more than a century along an 820-kilometer border drawn by France in 1907, when Cambodia was a French colony.