Thai-Cambodian peace pact runs into perils

 
Thailand and Cambodia fought a five-day border conflict in July that killed dozens of people and displaced about 200,000 on both sides of the frontier. The Thai-Cambodian peace deal is at stake.

US President Donald Trump’s much-heralded peace declaration between Thailand and Cambodia is falling apart after the two countries accused each other of opening fire along their disputed border last week, in battles that killed at least one person.

The brief clash came two days after Thailand said it was suspending a peace agreement reached between the two Southeast Asian kingdoms, and presided over by Trump, after several Thai soldiers were injured in a landmine explosion while on patrol in the border area a few days ago.

Thailand and Cambodia fought a five-day border conflict in July that killed dozens of people and displaced about 200,000 on both sides of the frontier. Trump had hailed his intervention in the dispute as further proof of his ability to end wars.

The border dispute goes back centuries, stemming from maps drawn when Cambodia was under French colonial rule. A scattering of temples along the border are claimed by both sides.

The ceasefire agreement did not resolve the underlying basis of the dispute or longstanding differences over where the border should run. Trump has cited it, however, as evidence of his presidential peace-making abilities.

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul visited frontline troops at the border and told reporters: “Today, we consider that the deal that we made in order to bring peace is now over.”

Foreign ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura later clarified that Thailand had paused the agreement’s implementation, not officially withdrawn from it.

An initial ceasefire between the two sides was agreed on July 28 after the US President held calls with their respective leaders. Thailand and Cambodia then signed a peace declaration in Kuala Lumpur in late October in a ceremony witnessed by Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Cambodia’s Ministry of Defense said Wednesday that Thai soldiers opened fire on civilians in a border village in its northwestern Banteay Meanchey province, killing one person and wounding three others.

The Thai military opened fire at 3:50 p.m. and again some two hours later, ministry spokesperson Lt General Maly Socheata said in a statement. Cambodia accused Thailand of carrying out “provocative actions over the past few days with the intention of inciting clashes,” in violation of the peace declaration.

The same village, which both sides claim, was the site of a confrontation in September between Thai security personnel and Cambodian villagers. Thai police deployed tear gas and rubber bullets to suppress protesters, according to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs.