Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul today dismissed the possibility of immediate negotiations with Cambodia, as a senior Thai military general said the Thai army aims to disable Cambodia’s military capability “for a long time.”
“With what they have done to us, there will not be any negotiations,” said Anutin after new border clashes between the two countries erupted, following what the Thai military claimed to be unprovoked fire into Thai territory by Cambodian soldiers.
Speaking to reporters at the Government House, Anutin said Thailand needed to respond “in order to let them see that they should not have threatened our sovereignty.”
“No more negotiations. If Cambodia wants the fighting to stop, it will need to comply with our demands,” said Anutin.
When asked whether he had communicated with either Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim or US President Donald Trump since the fighting broke out, Anutin said: “No. This is a bilateral issue.”
Trump and Anwar helped broker the peace deal between Thailand and Cambodia that was signed in Kuala Lumpur in late October this year before it was suspended by Thailand following a landmine explosion that injured four Thai army personnel last month.
In a Facebook post today, Anwar urged Thailand and Cambodia to exercise maximum restraint and maintain open channels of communication following the renewed border clashes.
“If you want to tell Thailand to do something, my suggestion is that you should talk to the one who has transgressed against Thailand to stop. Don’t tell us to restrain ourselves…It has already gone past that point,” Anutin said in response to a reporter’s question about Anwar’s Facebook post.
Meanwhile, Army Chief-of-Staff Chaiyapruek Duangprapat sent out a strong signal to Cambodia on the Thai army’s military objective as the armed forces of the two countries continued to exchange fire.
“The aim of the Thai army is to disable Cambodia’s military capability for a long time, for the sake of our children’s safety,” he said.
