BANGKOK: Fighting between Thailand and Cambodia entered its fourth day on Thursday as both sides waited for a promised telephone call from U.S. President Donald Trump, who says he believes he can again end the conflict between the two Southeast Asian nations.
On Wednesday, clashes at more than a dozen locations along the 817-km (508-mile) Thai-Cambodian border saw some of the most intense fighting since a five-day battle in July, which was the worst conflict in recent history.
In July, Trump stopped the fighting with calls to both leaders in which he threatened to halt trade talks unless they ended the conflict. Trump says he expects to speak with the countries’ leaders on Thursday.
“I think I can get them to stop fighting,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday. “I think I’m scheduled to speak to them tomorrow.”
However, Thailand has reacted more warily this time to overtures from Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who helped broker the July deal, which resulted in an extended ceasefire signed in October. Thailand insists the matter is for the two countries to resolve.
Anwar said he had spoken with leaders of Thailand and Cambodia on Tuesday and, though no definitive resolution was reached, he appreciated “the openness and willingness of both leaders to continue negotiations in order to ease tensions”.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Thursday he would “explain and clarify” the situation if Trump called.
“He will need to hear the details directly from me if he contacts me,” he told reporters. “I believe the foreign minister will already be providing information at the diplomatic level.”
Thailand and Cambodia have blamed each other for the latest clashes that started this week, and have traded accusations that civilians were being targeted in artillery and rocket attacks.
“Right now, no one wants conflict, especially with neighboring countries,” Anutin said. “But Thailand is very confident that it has been invaded. Therefore, it is necessary to safeguard the country’s independence and sovereignty.”
In a Wednesday evening update, Cambodia’s Interior Ministry said homes, schools, roads, pagodas and ancient temples had been damaged by “Thailand’s intensified shelling and F-16 air strikes targeting villages and civilian population centres up to 30 km inside Cambodian territory”.
On Thursday, Cambodia’s defence ministry accused Thailand of committing “brutal acts of aggression” against civilian targets, including schools and temples.
Thailand denies that it targets civilian infrastructure.
The clashes have already taken a heavy toll on civilians, with 10 people killed in Cambodia, including an infant, and 60 people wounded, according to its government.
Nine Thai soldiers have been killed in the fighting and more than 120 were wounded, the Thai army said. Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated from border areas in both countries.
