BEIJING, Dec 29 (Reuters) – Thailand and Cambodia plan to rebuild mutual trust and gradually consolidate a ceasefire after weeks of border clashes, Beijing said in a communique with the two countries following talks in southwestern China.
The Southeast Asian neighbours on Saturday ended weeks of fierce fighting that killed at least 101 people and displaced more than half a million with their second ceasefire since late October.
Thailand and Cambodia’s top diplomats travelled to the Chinese province of Yunnan for trilateral talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to discuss the border situation on Sunday and Monday.
In a meeting with his Thai and Cambodian counterparts, Wang called the ceasefire “hard-won,” and urged the two nations not to abandon it halfway or allow fighting to resume.
“Discussions between the three parties were beneficial and constructive, and an important consensus was reached,” Wang said, according to a statement released by his ministry, which did not mention ASEAN’s role in facilitating a ceasefire.
The parties involved must “look forward and move forward,” Wang added.
Thailand and Cambodia will “rebuild political mutual trust, achieve a turnaround in relations, and maintain regional peace,” according to a joint communique released by China’s official Xinhua news agency.
The latest round of clashes began early this month after a breakdown in a ceasefire that U.S. President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim helped broker on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur to halt a previous round of fighting.
“The implementation of the ceasefire agreement requires continued communication and consultation, and the restoration of bilateral relations must also proceed gradually,” Wang said on Monday.
Thai and Cambodian defence officials also joined the talks in China.
Diplomats and defence officials from Thailand and Cambodia held a number of bilateral meetings, the Chinese foreign minister said, adding that both sides held in-depth discussions and showed a “positive and open attitude.”
(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Kate Mayberry)
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