Tensions escalated in July after a Cambodian soldier was killed during a brief exchange of gunfire, leading to five days of fighting. United States President Donald Trump then brokered a ceasefire agreement, which halted the fighting.
In October, Trump backed a follow-on joint declaration on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, touting new trade deals with Thailand and Cambodia after they agreed to prolong their ceasefire.
But Thailand suspended the agreement the following month as the two sides then traded accusations of fresh clashes.
US NOT INVOLVED IN NEW ROUNDS OF TALKS
Sihasak said Thailand sometimes felt it was “in a rush” to sign the October declaration, because the US wanted it done in time for Trump’s visit to the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur.
Sihasak said the US was not involved in this round of talks.
“This is the ASEAN way – ASEAN centrality. We appreciated the efforts of the US, but everything was done so that they could be signed when President Trump came to attend the ASEAN Summit,” he said.
“But sometimes, we cannot always operate on a fixed timeframe. We really (need) time to discuss everything. And in the end, it’s about Thailand and Cambodia working things out.
“And that’s why I said that at the beginning, we should have worked it out bilaterally, but they (Cambodia) were interested in going international.”
On Dec 12, Trump announced on social media that Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to renew a ceasefire following calls with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet.
But Anutin said there was no ceasefire yet with Cambodia and fighting was ongoing.
Writing in a commentary for CNA, one observer said the broken ceasefire is a lesson in the limits of US leverage, with domestic considerations more pertinent.
“It is very probable that only after the (Thai) election is settled, will there be any real chance to reset relations between the neighbours,” the observer wrote.
Thailand is set to go to the polls on Feb 8, after Anutin dissolved parliament earlier in December. The move came after Anutin fell out with the opposition People’s Party, the largest grouping in parliament, plunging Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy into political turmoil.
Source: CNA
