Cambodia Asks Thailand to Move Border Talks to Malaysia

Cambodia has asked Thailand to hold bilateral talks in the neutral venue of Kuala Lumpur, according to a letter seen by AFP on Tuesday, with the nations set to negotiate truce terms after two weeks of deadly border clashes.

Bangkok’s defense chief on Tuesday sought to assuage any fears on the Cambodian side about the meeting taking place in Thailand, and the Thai foreign ministry said the venue was still being discussed.

The nations’ long-standing border conflict reignited this month, shattering an earlier truce, killing more than 40 people and displacing over 900,000 on both sides, officials said.

Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow on Monday announced a parley with Cambodia after a meeting in the Malaysian capital with his counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Cambodia is also a member.

Sihasak told reporters the discussion would be held Wednesday in Thailand’s Chanthaburi within the framework of an existing bilateral border committee.

But in a letter dated Monday to his Thai counterpart Nattaphon Narkphanit, Cambodian defense minister Tea Seiha requested the meeting be held in Kuala Lumpur.

“For a security reason due to the ongoing fighting along the border, this meeting should be held in a safe and neutral venue,” Tea Seiha wrote in the letter, which AFP obtained on Tuesday and confirmed with the ministry.

Malaysia, the chair of the ASEAN regional bloc, had agreed to host the talks in its capital, he added.

Thai foreign ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura told reporters in Bangkok that the meeting venue was “being discussed right now”.

“The talks will last over two days, with technical groups first,” he said Tuesday.