Eduardo González
Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares welcomed the ceasefire agreed upon by Thailand and Cambodia and urged the parties to “respect it and move forward with the peaceful resolution of their disputes.”
“I welcome the ceasefire agreed upon by Thailand and Cambodia with ASEAN mediation, which is in effect from today,” Albares wrote on social media this Sunday. “The parties must respect it and move forward with the peaceful resolution of their disputes in accordance with the UN Charter, the ASEAN Charter, and the Treaty of Friendship with Southeast Asia,” he added.
The governments of Thailand and Cambodia signed a ceasefire agreement this past Saturday, effective immediately. The agreement includes an end to attacks against civilians, infrastructure, and military targets on both sides of the dividing line. Under the agreement, both militaries commit to avoiding provocations, such as troop movements in border areas, and to ensuring the safe return of displaced persons.
The agreement, signed by the Cambodian and Thai defense ministers, Generals Tea Seiha and Nattaphon Narkphanit, establishes bilateral mechanisms to address the border demarcation and urges the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to send observers to monitor compliance with the ceasefire.
The latest border clashes, which have left approximately 100 people dead and displaced nearly 700,000, began on December 7, despite the fragile peace agreement signed last October in Kuala Lumpur and brokered by US President Donald Trump. In recent weeks, the US president had pledged to use his influence with the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia to end the conflict.
This is the most significant escalation between the two countries since last July, when five days of fighting resulted in 48 deaths and 300,000 displaced persons. Thailand and Cambodia have maintained territorial disputes for more than a century along a border of about 820 kilometers drawn by France in 1907, when Cambodia was a French colony.
