Chinese foreign minister hosts Cambodian, Thai counterparts after ceasefire

ISTANBUL

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday hosted Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn and Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow in the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan.

During his meeting with Sokhonn, Wang said China is willing to provide humanitarian supplies to Cambodia for the settlement of displaced people in border areas, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry.

China has been closely following the tense situation on the Cambodia-Thailand border and remains committed to facilitating peace through talks, Wang said.

He urged Cambodia and Thailand to proceed in a phased and measured approach to promote a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire, restore normal interactions, rebuild mutual trust, achieve a turnaround in bilateral relations, and uphold peace and stability in the region.

China supports the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN in playing its due role and stands ready to provide assistance to its observation mission in monitoring the ceasefire, he added.

Sokhonn said Cambodia deeply appreciates China’s active and constructive role in supporting the ceasefire with Thailand, according to state news agency Agence Kampuchea Presse.

He added that China’s continued support for the peaceful resolution of the situation plays a vital role in supporting the full and effective implementation of the ceasefire toward advancing a just and lasting peace.

During Wang’s meeting with top Thai diplomat Phuangketkeow, the Thai side appreciated China’s role and understanding in supporting peace between Thailand and Cambodia, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry in Bangkok.

The statement noted that the Thai side will consider the release of 18 Cambodian prisoners of war and hopes that Cambodia will facilitate the return of Thais along the border.

During the meeting, Wang told his Thai counterpart that China least wants to see Thailand and Cambodia at war and most hopes to see the two countries reconcile, according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Cambodia and Thailand signed a ceasefire agreement on Saturday, ending nearly 20 days of clashes that killed dozens and displaced nearly 1 million civilians along their disputed border.

Around 99 people were killed in clashes that resumed on Dec. 8, a day after a border skirmish wounded two Thai soldiers.

In total, 26 Thai soldiers and a civilian were killed in the fighting. As many as 41 other civilians also died due to “collateral effects" of the border clashes, according to Thai authorities.

Cambodia’s Interior Ministry said 31 Cambodian civilians were killed.

The truce said both sides are committed to an earlier ceasefire that ended five days of fighting in July, leaving at least 48 people dead and many displaced. That ceasefire broke down in early December.

The original July ceasefire was brokered by the US, China, and Malaysia and formalized as an agreement in October at a regional meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

The Cambodian and Thai foreign ministers arrived in Beijing on a two-day visit on Sunday.

Separately on Sunday, the initial shipment of emergency humanitarian aid from the Chinese government, which included tents, blankets, and food, arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Global Times reported, citing the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia.

Casey Barnett, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia, said that the organization provided aid to 541 Cambodian families displaced by the border conflict, according to a statement posted on US social media company X.