ASEAN steps in as Thailand-Cambodia border war tests regional unity
Malaysia hosts emergency talks as fighting kills dozens, displaces hundreds of thousands, and challenges ASEAN’s ability to contain conflict
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers will meet in Malaysia on Monday in a renewed attempt to stop escalating violence along the Thailand-Cambodia border, as clashes spread across disputed territory and humanitarian pressures intensify.
The talks in Kuala Lumpur come after weeks of fighting that have left at least 40 people dead and forced more than 500,000 civilians from their homes. The meeting marks the first direct, face-to-face engagement between Thai and Cambodian government representatives since hostilities resumed on December 8.
Malaysia, which currently chairs ASEAN, is seeking to revive a fragile ceasefire that briefly held earlier this year. That truce, brokered in July with support from Malaysia and the United States, collapsed amid accusations from both Bangkok and Phnom Penh of violations and military provocations.
Since then, fighting has intensified along multiple points of the 817-kilometre border, stretching from forested inland areas near Laos to coastal provinces further south. Heavy artillery, rocket fire, and air operations have been reported in several long-disputed zones, raising fears the conflict could become entrenched.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he was “cautiously optimistic” ahead of the talks, expressing hope that both sides would engage constructively. He said Thailand’s caretaker prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet had signaled a willingness to pursue an amicable resolution.
Malaysia’s foreign ministry said the meeting, chaired by Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan, will examine practical steps ASEAN can take to de-escalate tensions and restore stability. An ASEAN monitoring team is expected to present findings based on field observations and satellite data supplied by the United States.
Beyond regional efforts, both the United States and China have launched separate diplomatic initiatives aimed at ending the conflict, though neither has yet produced tangible results.
Thailand has stepped up military pressure in recent days, carrying out airstrikes on Cambodian positions and suspending fuel shipments through a Laotian border checkpoint over concerns supplies were being diverted to Cambodian forces.
The Thai army has accused Cambodia of using drones to drop explosives on Thai bases and firing rockets into civilian areas. Cambodian officials deny the claims and accuse Thailand of breaching Cambodian sovereignty.
As displacement grows and border communities remain under threat, Monday’s ASEAN meeting is widely seen as a crucial test of whether the regional block can contain one of its most serious security crises in decades.
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