Thailand-Cambodia truce holds, but Asean faces ‘reality check’

The militaries of Thailand and Cambodia have postponed a meeting scheduled to start negotiations at 10am local time on Tuesday, amid claims of small clashes erupting along the border after both sides agreed to a ceasefire at midnight on Monday.

A Thai army spokesman told Reuters that no new time for the talks had been set yet.

On Tuesday, Thailand’s Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said that the border was calm now, according to Reuters. “There is no escalation,” Phumtham told reporters. “Right now things are calm.”

“The frontline has eased after a ceasefire took effect from Monday midnight in accordance with the spirit of the agreement between Cambodia and Thailand at a special meeting in Malaysia,” Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said in a post on his official social media platforms on Tuesday.

“A sooner cessation of hostilities will also allow affected people, such as evacuees, to return to their homes and resume normal livelihoods sooner. This ceasefire and peace agreement is yielding positive and effective results.”

In the hours between midnight and the military meeting, Thailand’s army had accused Cambodia of violating the truce, saying clashes were continuing along the 800km (500-mile) border.