Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow will travel today to Malaysia to meet his Cambodian counterpart to discuss the border tension, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said yesterday.
“We are ready to talk, but our four preconditions stand and will not change. Cambodia must agree to and fulfil them before any solution can be reached,” Anutin stressed.
The four conditions are:
• Withdrawal of heavy weapons from border areas under ASEAN observers’ supervision;
• Clearance of landmines that have injured Thai soldiers;
• Joint suppression of cross-border crimes, including call-centre scams; and
• Management of border areas encroached upon by Cambodian villagers.
Tension between the neighbouring countries has continued into the fifth month despite the ceasefire agreement signed on July 28 in Malaysia, which, as ASEAN chair, acted as a mediator in the conflict.
Meanwhile, tension in the eastern border province of Sa Kaeo has persisted after hundreds of Cambodian settlers in two villages refused to move back to Cambodia after the deadline passed.
Sa Kaeo authorities have issued a public notice informing residents along the Thai–Cambodian border of an evacuation drill to temporary shelters today from 10am onward.
The exercise aims to ensure preparedness for potential emergency situations. Authorities have urged local residents to follow officials’ instructions for their safety and to stay updated with official information.
According to the First Army Area Operations Center’s daily report issued at 3pm yesterday, the situation along the Thai–Cambodian border in Sa Kaeo remains normal, though both sides continue to monitor developments closely.
