Thai, Cambodian officials meet in Malaysia over border dispute

ANKARA

Thai and Cambodian officials met in Malaysia on Monday, as ceasefire between the two Southeast Asian neighbors holds, according to a statement.

Ties between Thailand and Cambodia deteriorated in recent weeks as tensions escalated to cross-border airstrikes and rocket fire, killing and injuring dozens, including soldiers, which ended in a truce on July 28.

Officials from the two sides were to hold deliberations before Thursday's General Border Committee (GBC) meeting, which is expected to set the tone for a broader de-escalation roadmap under the frameworks of Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as bilateral military cooperation.

Ahead of their meetings, Malaysian Defense Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin held a trilateral video conference on Sunday with his Cambodian and Thai counterparts, Gen. Tea Seiha and Gen. Natthaphon Narkphanit, respectively.

The Malaysian defense minister said the upcoming GBC meeting will include observers from Malaysia, the US, and China, reflecting international interest in ensuring a peaceful resolution to the border standoff.

Bangkok and Phnom Penh have a border dispute along Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province and Thailand's northeastern province of Ubon Ratchathani, with renewed tensions since May 28, when a Cambodian soldier was killed.

Separately, the Thai army on Monday said it is holding 18 Cambodian soldiers as "prisoners of war."

The prisoners of war "will be repatriated upon complete cessation of armed conflict in accordance with Geneva Convention provisions," the army said in a statement.

Some 20 Cambodian soldiers were captured by Thai forces during the recent border skirmishes, two of whom were repatriated last week.

*Writing by Aamir Latif