China urges Thailand, Cambodia to 'exercise restraint,' prevent further escalation

ISTANBUL

China on Tuesday urged Thailand and Cambodia to "exercise restraint" to prevent further escalation.

"As a friend and close neighbor of Cambodia and Thailand, China sincerely hopes that both sides exercise restraint and work in the same direction to prevent further escalation," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said during a regular news conference in Beijing.

"China will continue to play a constructive role in de-escalation, in its own way," he added.

Japan on Monday also expressed "deep concern" over the situation, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry.

"The improvement of the relations between Cambodia and Thailand is indispensable for the stability and development of the entire region," it said, opposing any actions that could "escalate the situation."

Tokyo urged both countries to "observe the ceasefire agreement, exercise maximum restraint, and seek a peaceful resolution through dialogue, following the spirit of the Joint Declaration on October 26."

The remarks came after clashes between the two sides as Bangkok and Phnom Penh accused each other's forces of violating the Oct. 26 ceasefire agreement, which was signed on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit and witnessed by Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who helped broker the ceasefire in an effort to resolve their long-standing border dispute.

The dispute between the two neighbors erupted into deadly clashes in July, displacing thousands. In late July, they agreed to a fragile cease-fire brokered by Trump.