Malaysia summit to address Thailand-Cambodia clash as US urges truce
Bangkok and Phnom Penh each accuse the other of moves that led to the breakdown of the July ceasefire.
ASEAN members Thailand and Cambodia are scheduled to attend the gathering in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, the first face-to-face meeting between the governments since the fighting resumed on December 8.
The US also called on Cambodia and Thailand to cease fighting and fully implement the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords following renewed clashes along their disputed border.
"The United States continues to call on Cambodia and Thailand to end hostilities, withdraw heavy weapons, cease emplacement of landmines, and fully implement the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords, which include mechanisms to accelerate humanitarian demining and address border issues," the State Department said in a statement on Sunday.
It also welcomed a scheduled meeting of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) "to support Cambodia and Thailand fully honouring their commitments to end this conflict."
Southeast Asian foreign ministers meet in Malaysia on Monday, seeking to end border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia that have killed at least 40 people and displaced more than half a million this month.
The ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will seek to revive a short-lived ceasefire brokered by Malaysia, this year's ASEAN chair, and US President Donald Trump.
Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords
ASEAN members Thailand and Cambodia are scheduled to attend the gathering in Kuala Lumpur, the first face-to-face meeting between the governments since the fighting resumed on December 8.
Bangkok and Phnom Penh each accuse the other of moves that led to the breakdown of the July ceasefire and a wider October peace deal.
Heavy exchanges of fire have occurred in many of the long-disputed areas along their 817-kilometre land border, from forested inland areas near Laos to coastal provinces.
Thailand has carried out air strikes on Cambodian military positions and halted fuel shipments through a Laotian border checkpoint due to fears they were being diverted to Cambodia.
The Thai army said Cambodia had been using drones to drop bombs on Thai bases and firing rockets at civilian areas.
The two countries signed a peace agreement in October at the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in the presence of US President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, but it was later suspended after Thai soldiers were seriously wounded in a landmine explosion in a border province.