Thailand And Cambodia To Hold Peace Talks In Malaysia Today Amid Escalating Border Clashes

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After days of border clashes, Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to hold negotiations today in Putrajaya, with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim stepping in as mediator

According to Free Malaysia Today, the agreement to hold peace talks was reached yesterday, 27 July, with delegations from both nations arriving in Malaysia — the current chair of ASEAN — today.

Anwar is expected to oversee the meeting, saying that the top priority was securing an immediate ceasefire.

According to Anwar, both the United States and China have also urged Thailand and Cambodia to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, which has killed over 30 people and displaced some 200,000 after just four days of fighting.

Among the dead are 13 Thai civilians and eight Cambodian civilians.

Talks are scheduled to begin at 3pm, with Thailand's acting prime minister Phumtham Wechayachai leading the Thai delegation, while Cambodian prime minister Hun Manet is also expected to be in attendance.

However, clashes have continued despite both sides agreeing to enter talks

Both countries have accused each other of firing shots in contested regions. Thailand has accused the Cambodian military of shelling civilian areas, and Cambodia has accused the Thai military of targeting sacred temple complexes.

According to Al-Jazeera, both governments want a ceasefire, but the other side will have to pull back from certain positions — and the situation has reached a deadlock where neither side is able, or willing, to stand down.

And despite online nationalist rhetoric, civilians from both sides also want their countries to commit to peace.

"For me, I think it is great if Thailand agreed to stop fighting so both countries can live with peace," a Phnom Penh university student, Sreung Nita told Reuters, while Thavorn Toosawan, a Thai civilian said, "It's great that America is insisting on the ceasefire because it would bring peace."

Malaysians have been told to avoid the Thai-Cambodian border in recent days, as clashes in the area continue to escalate.