PUTRAJAYA, July 29 — Cambodia and Thailand on Monday expressed deep appreciation to Malaysia for its decisive role in securing an immediate ceasefire between the two countries, which had been in conflict since last Thursday.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet described the special meeting hosted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who also chairs ASEAN, as “urgent and timely” and commended his initiative to mediate an immediate ceasefire between Cambodia and Thailand.
“Today (Monday) we have a good meeting and very good results that we hope to stop immediately the fighting that has caused the loss of many lives, injuries, and also caused a lot of displacement of people.
“We hope that the solutions that Prime Minister Anwar just announced will set a condition for moving forward for our bilateral discussion to return to normalcy of the relationship and as a foundation for future de-escalation of forces,” he said after attending the special meeting on Monday together with Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai.
At the same time, Hun Manet and Phumtham also expressed their sincere thanks and appreciation to the governments of the United States (US) and China, as they value the efforts in organising this crucial meeting and support for peace.
Also in attendance at the special meeting held at Seri Perdana Residence were US Ambassador to Malaysia, Edgard Kagan, and the Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia, Ouyang Yujing.
Also present Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
The US was a co-organiser of the meeting, while China was an observer.
Hun Manet said that due to the crises at the border, a total of 300,000 people were refugees, with 140,000 people on the Cambodian side, and the rest were from the Thai side.
Hun Manet also expressed his appreciation to Phumtham for playing a positive role in today’s constructive dialogue, which resulted in an agreement to cease hostilities effective tonight.
At the meeting, Cambodia and Thailand reached a common understanding, including an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, with effect from 24:00 hours (local time) on July 28.
Both countries will hold an informal meeting of regional commanders on July 29 at 7.00 am, followed by a meeting with Defence Attachés led by the ASEAN Chair, subject to mutual agreement.
Cambodia and Thailand will also convene a meeting of the General Border Committee (GBC) on Aug 4 to be hosted by Cambodia.
The GBC, Manet said, will set a good platform for more discussion to return to normalcy.
Reiterating his appreciation towards the outcome, Manet expressed his confidence by saying: “.. the result that we have today will provide a lot of opportunities for hundreds of thousands of people on both sides to return to normalcy and stop fighting between our two countries and to start rebuilding trust and confidence and cooperation going forward between Cambodia and Thailand.”
Meanwhile, Phumtham said today’s outcome reflects Thailand’s desire for a peaceful resolution to protect the country’s sovereignty and the lives of the people.
“We agreed to a ceasefire that will be carried out successfully in good faith by both sides,” he said.
After a meeting that lasted more than two hours, the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia departed the Seri Perdana Residence at 6:03 pm and 6:10 pm, respectively.
