NationThailand/Reuters-Dec 9
Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow told Reuters in Bangkok on Tuesday that linking trade measures to the conflict was unacceptable, even as fighting along the frontier intensifies. “The issue of Thai–Cambodian relations should not be tied to tariff negotiations or used as a tool to pressure Thailand back into the joint declaration,” he said, referring to the enhanced ceasefire agreed last October. “These are separate matters.”
Hostilities flared again on Monday after weeks of heightened tension, leaving at least 12 people dead and forcing hundreds of thousands of residents on both sides of the border to flee. Heavy artillery and rocket fire have since spread along much of the country’s 817-kilometre (508-mile) land boundary, with each side accusing the other of firing first. The latest violence marks the most serious escalation since July, when US President Donald Trump warned that talks on lowering tariffs would be frozen unless both governments halted the fighting. That intervention paved the way for an expanded ceasefire signed in October, with Trump in attendance. Trump has yet to comment publicly on the renewed clashes, but a US administration official said on Monday the president remained committed to seeing the violence brought to an end and expected both sides to honor their commitments under the truce. Sihasak said the current climate was not suitable for outside mediation, arguing that Cambodia must first show genuine intent to end the conflict. Phnom Penh maintains that it is abiding by the October accord and accuses Thailand of aggression. Read more at:
