Thailand and Cambodia ceasefire talks begin in Malaysia
The talks, held at Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's official residence, Seri Perdana, included delegations from the US and China.
Thai acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet met shortly after 0700 GMT, following US President Donald Trump's intervention.
Trump reportedly secured commitments from both leaders to 'quickly work out' a truce during late-night weekend calls.
Malaysia, as the current ASEAN chair, is mediating the negotiations.
However, hostilities persisted ahead of the meeting, with both sides exchanging fresh accusations.
Phumtham claimed Bangkok doubted Phnom Penh's sincerity, while Cambodian defence ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata accused Thailand of continued territorial incursions with heavy weaponry.
The disputed border region, home to ancient temples, has seen repeated clashes despite past ceasefire agreements.
US State Department officials and a Chinese delegation were present at the talks, reflecting international interest in stabilising the conflict. – AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
South Africa continues tariff negotiation with U.S.
JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- With a 30-percent tariff imposed by the United States set to take effect, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday pledged to pursue all diplomatic efforts to safeguard the national interests. According to a statement released by the presidency, South Africa will continue to negotiate with the United States regarding the 30 percent tariff, which is now expected to take effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT) on Aug. 7. The South African government has presented the U.S. side with a framework deal aimed at enhancing mutually beneficial trade and investment relations. "All channels of communication remain open to engage with the United States, and our negotiators are ready, pending an invitation from the United States," the presidency said in the statement. The presidency noted that the South African government is finalizing a package to support companies vulnerable to reciprocal tariffs, which includes several measures to assist firms, producers, and workers. "South Africa will continue to pursue all diplomatic efforts to safeguard its national interests," said the presidency. On Tuesday, the South African government acknowledged that "the intersection of geopolitical, domestic and trade issues" defines the current impasse between the two sides. Relations between South Africa and the United States have taken a downturn since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January. Trump indicated that he may skip the Group of 20 Summit, which will be held in November in Johannesburg, the largest city and economic hub of South Africa.
New Straits Times
2 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Cross-border trade to thrive after high-level consultation
IT took bilateral summitry at the highest level to revive cross-border free-trade arrangement at the Tebedu-Entikong border crossing between Sarawak and West Kalimantan in Indonesia. This deal was one of the highlights of the 13th Malaysia-Indonesia Annual Consultation meeting between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta this week. Also present were Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg and Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor. Sarawak had long sought to revive the free flow of goods since Indonesia unilaterally stopped it in 2016. Sarawak set up an inland port early in 2010 because it seemed to make good economic sense to transport goods from Kuching Port to West Kalimantan via the Tebedu inland port rather than all the way from Java. At its height in 2013, some RM700 million in goods were reported to be traded this way. Numerous Sarawak missions to Indonesia seeking to reinstate the free-trade arrangement since then had been fruitless. It, of course, hardly needs stressing that free trade benefits all who engage in it. It also makes geographic sense for transshipment of goods to and from West Kalimantan via Tebedu and Kuching. Naturally, it also needs to be acknowledged that West Kalimantan has similar aspirations to become a trade transshipment hub with the commissioning of a new deep sea port near Pontianak, the provincial capital. The new port will also be well-served by land adjoining it, which has been earmarked for the development of industries. It so happened that a trade delegation from Sarawak led by Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan was in West Kalimantan and East Kalimantan, also this week. The main mission was, of course, to deepen the economic relationship not just with West Kalimantan bordering Sarawak but in East Kalimantan where the new Indonesian capital of Nusantara is being developed. Sarawak has already identified several joint-ventures in developing dams in Kalimantan and even major real estate developer Ibraco Bhd was scouting about for possible projects in Balikpapan, the major city adjoining Nusantara. Awang Tengah was reportedly also reviewing localities for setting up a Sarawak trade and tourism office in Pontianak. This comes on the heels of the revival of air connectivity between Kuching and Pontianak next month. There has been much clamour both in Sarawak and West Kalimantan for flights between the two cities to resume after they were stopped during the Covid-19 pandemic. People-to-people exchanges have come back strongly since as witnessed by the daily long queues at the Tebedu-Entikong main border crossing as well as other secondary border posts. All these positive developments must be sustained through regular high-level official exchanges, especially in showing to the Indonesian side that free trade and the free flow of people across our common border is not a zero-sum proposition benefiting only one side. What happened in Jakarta this week also shows that Sarawak and Sabah can and do benefit substantially from close state-federal ties and working in tandem to take the fullest advantage from similarly close Malaysia-Indonesia bilateral ties.
New Straits Times
2 hours ago
- New Straits Times
'There is still hope': Pilgrims from war zones gather in Rome
KHADER Qassis travelled 32 hours from the West Bank, passing military checkpoints across three countries, to join hundreds of thousands of other young Catholics in Rome for a week-long pilgrimage. While Rome thronged with singing pilgrims, the 20-year-old from Bethlehem said he felt some guilt that he was in the cheerful Italian capital while starvation was spreading in Gaza, which has been besieged by Israel for months. "It's hard when there are people in Gaza dreaming just to eat and I'm travelling," Qassis told AFP. The Vatican is holding its "Jubilee of Youth" this week, with up to a million 18-to-35 year-olds expected to take part. The Vatican has singled out pilgrims from conflict zones – especially Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Ukraine – that made major "sacrifices" to get to the Eternal City. For many living in war-scarred countries, the trip was a chance to experience a breath of normalcy. "Being here lets us feel that we're free," said Jessie Khair, an 18-year-old Palestinian woman from the West Bank, wearing a black kufiyah scarf. She was moved by the outpouring of sympathy over Gaza, "far from the borders, checkpoints and anything that could hurt us." At the majestic St Peter's Square, a group of pilgrims waved a Syrian flag. Father Fadi Syriani was accompanying a group of 11 Syrian youths, many of whom left their country for the first time. "It is a generation that has grown up in the years of war that started in 2011," he told AFP, saying that Syrian Christian youths, a tiny minority in the country, felt "isolated" from the rest of the Church. Many Christians have fled war in Syria, where a recent attack on a Damascus church killed 25 people. In Rome, Syriani said, the youths can "witness that there is still hope." The Vatican's youth event is also unfolding as Moscow pounds Ukraine with more deadly attacks despite Western ultimatums to end its invasion. Leo XIV, who became pope in May, has brought hope to many Ukrainians after his predecessor pope Francis had repeatedly made comments that infuriated Ukrainians, who accused him of giving in to Russian imperialism. "For the last few months, the communication is better than what it was," said 23-year-old Svitlana Tryhub, from the front-line city of Zaporizhzhia but now living in Lviv near the Polish border. "It's important to be balanced, but it is important to be brave and speak up," she said. Most of Ukraine's pilgrims came from western Ukraine, the most religious part of the country, with the largest share of Greek Catholics, who pledge allegiance to the Vatican. Because of the ban on military-age men from leaving Ukraine, almost all were women. Valerie Fabianska, an 18-year-old economy student, said she could "forgive" or pray alongside Russians only if those responsible for the invasion were jailed and their country "accepted its crimes" against Ukraine. She said the war had made her more religious. "When the world around you is so unstable, you can find some peace and stability in God," she said, acknowledging nonetheless that it was "really hard." At Rome's Ukrainian Greek Catholic church, an all-women choir sang amid a "prayer for Ukraine." Maria Khrystofora, a young nun from a western Ukrainian monastery, said she had noticed that more of her countrymen were coming to the church during the war. "When people have nothing human to rely on, they turn to God to help them," she said.
