Defence officials from Thailand and Cambodia will meet on December 24 to discuss the possibility of resuming a ceasefire, Thailand’s foreign minister said, as border fighting between the two countries entered a third week.
The decision followed a special meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers in Kuala Lumpur, where ASEAN sought to revive a truce previously brokered by Malaysia and the United States. Talks will take place under the long-standing General Border Committee mechanism, with Thailand proposing a meeting at the border in Chanthaburi province.
Thailand says it wants a “true ceasefire” backed by clear commitments, implementation measures and de-mining efforts, after weeks of fighting that have killed at least 80 people and displaced hundreds of thousands.
00:00Today we had the special meeting of the ASEAN foreign ministers and on my part I
00:08expressed appreciation to the chair for organizing this meeting we think this is
00:14you know a reflection of the ASEAN way and the ASEAN centrality you know it's
00:20good that we we have this regional initiative to discuss any problem
00:26dispute among the member countries because discussions on disputes to take
00:34place within the ASEAN context first so this is the point second point I said
00:41that Thailand has always strive for peace in our neighboring countries peaceful
00:50relations with all our neighboring countries and with regard to Cambodia we
00:55worked so hard to bring peace back to Cambodia when they had the civil war in
01:02the country we worked hard for 10 years we meeting ASEAN Thailand and especially
01:08especially Thailand because we are the frontline state and after the after the
01:13conflict ended with the signing of the Paris peace agreement we work hard to
01:17rebuild the country you know we built roads we helped out in schools building
01:23schools hospitals and the structure that they needed and before that I also
01:28mentioned that at the height of the conflict we open our borders to refugees so
01:32we have only the best intention towards Cambodia now when we started the conflict
01:41started but many factors I don't have to name list them out you know but when we when we
01:51when the conflict started Thailand wanted to resolve the problem bilaterally bilaterally and this
01:59was before my time it was the time of the previous foreign minister and the
02:03previous government but the Cambodians were only interested in going to the
02:10internet to the various international forums you know so in effect
02:14internationalizing a bilateral issue between the two countries and you know and
02:21then I raised this very this incident of the leaked phone conversation which you
02:28know undermined the previous government and this is not and this is not
02:33respecting the principle non non interference right it's clearly a blatant
02:39violation of non interference right but okay and of course the the conflict
02:47escalated and then we had the agreement on the ceasefire and then we came to
02:54Kuala Lumpur with the through the media mediation efforts of the United States and
03:01Malaysia we had the the decoration I noted that off we were sometimes in a rush to do direct
03:12decoration because you know the United States wanted the decoration signed in
03:20time by the visit of President Trump I mean the earliest the earlier the better but sometimes we
03:26really to sit down trash things out so that things that we agree will really
03:31hold really be respected but but for us the four key provisions of the
03:39agreement are all equally important first withdrawal of troops heavy weapons from
03:44the border areas second demining demining is important to the Thai side
03:49because before the latest incident six Thai troops step on landmine and had there and
03:58they were severely injured their legs were cut off or parts of their leg legs were cut off and so it's
04:05important to Thailand and then we have a provision on dealing with you know all the scams operation
04:13along the border which is a serious problem and Thailand just organized international meeting on the
04:1817th in Bangkok and then also the question of encroachment so we don't you know we
04:24encroachment will you know has been an impediment in term in the border demarcation we have to deal with that and then of course after I think a couple of weeks we had the seventh incident in which the Thai soldier stuff and these were clearly newly planted landmines
04:30landmines it was confirmed by the asian observer team you know and under the Ottawa convention on anti-personnel landmines you cannot you have to remove existing one and you can definitely cannot
04:37plant new ones so for us it was a clear violation of what we agreed in Kuala Lumpur the joint declaration of the
05:07and and yet we have not received any acceptance of responsibility from the
05:16Cambodian side and then the situation exacerbated further we had you know
05:23incidents then clashes on the border and this is the situation that we are
05:29confronted with now and that's why we are here in Kuala Lumpur the prior to this
05:41meeting you know I've heard from many sources that the Cambodian side has been
05:48telling everyone that they're ready for a unit unconditional ceasefire but we have
05:55never been told about that event to Chinese United States the EU and many
06:03countries asked what is Thailand why why isn't Thailand accepting this we will
06:08never propose you know there was never a proposal directly sent to us so our
06:17assumption our conclusion is that this is a way of putting international pressure on
06:22Thailand and you know if you really want a ceasefire and this is the point I made
06:29and and the meeting agreed that a ceasefire cannot come by way of a decoration you
06:35declare ceasefire tonight with that ceasefire we respect it right so you need
06:41time to discuss the details of the ceasefire the measures to implement a
06:48ceasefire so fine the Cambodians want a ceasefire let's have a discussion on a
06:55ceasefire and so we propose that you know our two militaries should meet as soon as
07:01possible let them choose the date and otherwise you know they may accuse us of
07:06delaying or whatever let the Cambodians choose the date for this meeting so we
07:14have in summary we have agreed to it will be reflected in the chairman statement they
07:22welcome the resumption of the discussion on ceasefire okay second the discussion will
07:30be held in the in the framework of the GBC Joint Boundary Committee which is
07:37already existing and the meeting is scheduled and this is proposed by the
07:43Cambodian side on the 24th of December so we will be working towards and this
07:50time you know let's have let's trash out the details make sure that the ceasefire
07:56reflects that what you know the reaction the situation on the ground and the
08:02ceasefire is one that really holds you know and both sides
08:07going to fully respect the ceasefire but that's what I have for you today and I
08:15think the chair is going to give a press conference very soon but if you have any
08:19questions please anyone have questions please stay your name and agency before
08:28asking thank you
08:29thank you
08:30thank you
08:31thank you
08:35thank you
08:37thank you
08:38thank you
08:40thank you
08:42thank you
08:43thank you
08:44thank you
08:45thank you
08:46thank you
08:47thank you
08:49thank you
08:51if i was mentioned
08:53before
08:58but
08:59a
09:00Mining. Demining. In every area.
09:05But right now, we have to start from a point.
09:10We also have a point that we have to make the most important point.
09:13This is the last thing.
09:16We ceasefire is something that we can do in front of us.
09:21I'm Gamir from Phoenix TV. I have two questions.
09:38The first is, during the military action, has Thailand confirmed that there are many scam gardens and human trafficking and organ trafficking?
09:51The second question is, when will this military action finish? Has Thailand reached the target?
10:12And there is a new election that will happen, and the supporting rate to the caretaker prime minister of Thailand is also waiving.
10:24So will this issue affect the military action to Cambodia or the sea sphere between the two countries? Thank you.
10:34Well, you know, all of us know that there exist these scam centers on the border, along the border, especially in Cambodia.
10:49But the military operations were not part of suppression of scam operation, part of attacking military targets.
11:01Our understanding is that some of these scam centers were also control centers for military activities.
11:11With regard to the scam, we have other frameworks with Cambodia internationally to suppress to tackle these problems, right?
11:23So I'm saying that the military actions were military action directed at military targets.
11:30Maybe some of the scam centers that were sub-target of military action were served as military centers.
11:43But the problem of scams is a very serious one, and we have working on this.
11:51This is part of the KL decoration. We're working at this regionally, internationally.
11:57We just had a meeting in Bangkok on global partnership against online scams.
12:04On the popularity, I think that we have to do...
12:09This one is not about popularity, you know.
12:14What's happening now, you're saying that it's going to affect the population of the government?
12:23I don't think so.
12:24I think the people...
12:25This is something that we are doing to protect our sovereignty,
12:31to protect our territory, integrity.
12:34And as for how the Thai people would view that,
12:39I think they see this as something that is defending our legitimate interests.
12:45How is that going to be reflected in the voting? I don't know.
12:51My question is,
13:14?
13:19?
13:24?
13:30?
13:33?
13:34?
13:35?
13:37?
13:40?
13:42and then the GPC will be closed or not.
13:47But we need to have a closed window.
13:49What is the following steps that will be followed by GPC?
13:53The GPC is a group that is talking about.
13:58And the GPC has been talking about it.
14:01But this is why we have to look at it again.
14:04Because the GPC will change the plan.
14:06So that all of them will come from that.
14:09Do you have to talk about the person who will talk about the Thai people in the country?
14:15They say that they want to talk about the people who want to talk about the Thai people.
14:28They talk about the same thing, but they never talk about them.
14:32There are two more questions, and then we need to go.
14:57Thank you. Mahmoud Alzaibak from Al Jazeera.
15:02Your Excellency, you mentioned that the previous ceasefire agreement was rushed.
15:08To achieve new ceasefire agreements, how much time is required in Europe?
15:15As much time as needed, you know. I mean, well, no, but we are going to discuss the ceasefire arrangement on the 24th.
15:31The discussion will be conducted in the framework of the General Border Committee.
15:38So 24th, they will meet to discuss, to trash out the details, because you cannot just declare a ceasefire and expect a ceasefire to happen, right?
15:47We want a firm commitment. We must have a detailed implementation plan.
15:52So 24th, they meet. If everything goes well, maybe they agree on the 24th.
15:57They might agree the next day. I don't know.
16:01But at least both sides, at least the Thai side, were approaching this in a very constructive way and wanting a true ceasefire.
16:12Is there any technical issue you think it might take longer time?
16:17Well, as long as they need to cover everything, you know, and I'm not sure because it's the military that has to work these issues out with the Cambodian side.
16:36I don't want to speculate. Thank you.
16:40Good afternoon, Martin from AFP.
16:45Where will the ceasefire talks be held?
16:50We're proposing at this border province in Thailand, because last time we had the GBC met in Cambodia.
16:59Now we're proposing that the meeting be held at the border line in Tantaburi province, which is a province bordering Cambodia.
17:10Second question. You said that it was rushed.
17:14I didn't say.
17:15Well, yes.
17:16Did the U.S. have any involvement during this round of talks?
17:21No.
17:22This is the ASEAN way, ASEAN centrality, you know.
17:27Yes, the U.S., we appreciated the efforts of the U.S., but everything was done so that they could be signed when President Trump came to attend the ASEAN summit, right?
17:42But sometimes, you know, we cannot always operate on a fixed time frame, right?
17:47We really have time to discuss anything.
17:50In the end, it's about Thailand and Cambodia working things out.
17:55And that's why I said that at the beginning, we should have worked it out bilaterally, but they were interested in going international.
18:04Going international and also internationalizing.
18:09One more.
18:10Last one.
18:11Okay.
18:12Last one.
18:13Sorry.
18:14China Central Television.
18:16I'm from, sorry, China Central Television.
18:20My question is, how do you evaluate China's efforts in the mediate the conflict?
18:32Well, China is a very important partner of Thailand.
18:37China can contribute immensely to peace in the region, peaceful resolution of conflict, you know.
18:46But at the same time, you know, we need to work things out bilaterally.
18:55And certainly, you know, in spite of the best intention and perhaps a little bit of pressure, in the end, it's up to the two countries to be ready and to work, sort things out bilaterally.
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