00:00As tensions escalate between Thailand and Cambodia, ASEAN must do whatever is necessary
00:07to preserve regional peace and stability, says Foreign Minister Datuk Sri Mohamed Hassan.
00:13In his opening remarks at a special ASEAN meeting on Monday, Mohamed said Malaysia,
00:18as ASEAN chair, was deeply saddened by civilian casualties and the protracted conflict, which
00:24have disrupted livelihoods and caused internal displacement.
00:28He noted that Prime Minister Datuk Sri Anwar Ibrahim had engaged his Cambodian and Thai counterparts
00:34on December 21 to discuss de-escalation, stressing the need for dialogue, wisdom and mutual respect
00:41to ease tensions and safeguard peace.
00:44Mohamed said ASEAN's role went beyond de-escalation, urging member states to strengthen trust-building
00:50efforts and keep dialogue channels open.
00:54He added that Malaysia's Chief of Defense Forces, through the ASEAN Observer Team, AOT,
00:59has been engaging both sides to monitor the situation.
01:03A closed-door session of the meeting would hear a briefing directly from the AOT.
01:08He also warned of the wider consequences of continued escalation and urged ASEAN members
01:14to give the issue urgent attention.
01:17Malaysia has called on both countries to fully implement the July 28 ceasefire and subsequent
01:22agreements, including the Kuala Lumpur peace accord.
01:26Cambodia and Thailand have exchanged heavy weapons fire along parts of their 817-kilometer
01:32border in some of the fiercest fighting since July.
01:36Although both sides signed the Kuala Lumpur peace accord on October 26 at the 47th ASEAN
01:41summit in Kuala Lumpur, witnessed by ANWAR and U.S. President Donald Trump, hostilities
01:47have resurfaced in recent weeks, resulting in deaths and the displacement of thousands.
01:52And this is the wish of our Cambodian people.
01:55the wish of our Cambodian people.
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