Thailand and Cambodia traded accusations of targeting civilians in artillery and rocket attacks on Wednesday, as US President Donald Trump said he would try to intervene to stop the fighting and salvage a ceasefire he brokered earlier this year. Clashes raged at more than a dozen locations along their 817-km (508-mile) border in some of the most intense fighting since a five-day battle in July, which Trump stopped with calls to both leaders to halt their worst conflict in recent history. The Southeast Asian neighbours have blamed each other for the clashes that started on Monday.
Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania late on Tuesday said he would try to stop the renewed hostilities, after enumerating the conflicts he said he had helped stop, such as those between Pakistan and India, and Israel and Iran. “I hate to say this one, named Cambodia-Thailand, and it started up today, and tomorrow I am going to have to make a phone call,” he said. “Who else could say, ‘I’m going to make a phone call and stop a war of two very powerful countries, Thailand and Cambodia?’”
Thailand’s army has made clear it wants to cripple Cambodia’s military capabilities and Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Tuesday said operations would not stop. He declined to comment on Wednesday on what the military’s end-game was. Asked about Trump’s remarks, he said the conflict was a matter between the two countries involved. “Other national leaders may have good intentions in wanting peace,” Anutin told reporters. “It cannot be as simple as picking up the phone and calling. There must be proper appointment and agreed talking points. We still have time to prepare these issues if such discussions are to take place.”
Cambodian government spokesperson Pen Bona said Phnom Penh’s position was that it wanted only peace and had acted in self-defence.
A top adviser to Cambodia’s prime minister has signalled the country was ready to negotiate. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who helped Trump broker the ceasefire, said he had spoken with leaders of Thailand and Cambodia on Tuesday and, though no definitive resolution was reached, he appreciated “the openness and willingness of both leaders to continue negotiations in order to ease tensions”.
Thailand’s army said fighting took place on 16 different fronts on Wednesday, including both ends of the border. It reported an onslaught of BM-21 rockets fired by Cambodian forces, some of which it said landed near a hospital in Surin province, forcing the evacuation of patients and staff.
The army said Cambodian drones were being used to drop bombs and BM-21 rockets, and tanks were used at other border areas, including near the contested 11th Century Preah Vihear temple, a flashpoint for previous diplomatic and military conflicts.
The three days of clashes have taken a heavy toll on civilians, with nine people killed in Cambodia, including an infant, and 46 people wounded, according to its government. Five Thai soldiers had been killed in the fighting and 68 people were wounded, the Thai army said.
On Wednesday, Cambodia withdrew its athletes from the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand, citing safety reasons and their families’ concern.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated from border areas, though some people have chosen not to leave.
In July, Trump used the leverage of trade negotiations to broker a ceasefire. Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow on Tuesday told Reuters that tariff threats should not be used to pressure his country into talks. — Reuters
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