BANGKOK/PHNOM PENH — Military officials from Thailand and Cambodia began talks Wednesday, both countries said, days after the neighbors agreed to discuss resumption of a ceasefire after 16 days of fierce border clashes that have killed at least 86 people.
The talks come two days after a special meeting in Kuala Lumpur of Southeast Asian foreign ministers convened to try to salvage a truce first brokered by ASEAN chair Malaysia and U.S. President Donald Trump after a previous round of clashes in July.
Thai Defense Ministry spokesman Rear Adm. Surasant Kongsiri said Wednesday’s meeting of the General Border Committee would last three days and could pave the way for an agreement.
The talks were held at a border checkpoint toward the southern end of their 508-mile frontier.
“If the secretariat meeting goes smoothly and leads to an agreement, then there will be a meeting between the defense ministers of the two countries on Dec. 27,” Surasant told reporters.
Cambodian defense ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata said the talks began at 4:30 p.m., led by generals from both sides.
The meeting is the most significant step since fighting re-erupted and follows separate, unsuccessful efforts by Malaysia, China and the United States to bring the two countries to the table.
Cambodia and Thailand have each accused the other of aggression and violations of an enhanced ceasefire reached in October in Malaysia in Trump’s presence, during which they committed to demining and withdrawing troops and heavy weapons from areas over which sovereignty has been contested bitterly for decades.
In the run-up to Wednesday’s talks, Thailand and Cambodia have continued clashing, with both sides fighting at multiple points since early December, stretching from forested regions near Laos to the coastal provinces of the Gulf of Thailand.
At least 21 civilians have been killed in Cambodia since the fighting, and more than half a million people displaced, according to national authorities. In Thailand, at least 65 people have lost their lives, with over 150,000 evacuated from their homes.
A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said that Washington was concerned by continued fighting and casualties along the Cambodia-Thailand border and that Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio remained in contact with their Cambodian and Thai counterparts, as well as Malaysia, to convey this concern.
“We strongly urge the immediate cessation of hostilities, the protection of civilians, and for both sides to fully implement the ceasefire and the other de-escalatory measures outlined in the October 26 Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Cambodia’s defense ministry on Wednesday accused Thailand of using fighter jets to drop bombs in its border province of Banteay Meanchey, describing the actions as “brutal” and indiscriminate.
Thailand said its neighbor continued to fire heavy weapons into civilian areas in Sa Kaeo province on Wednesday, prompting Thai troops to retaliate.