Thailand and Cambodia agree to talks over border conflict

Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to resume talks on a permanent ceasefire following renewed fighting on their shared border.

The negotiations are scheduled to take place on Wednesday, according to Thailand’s Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow, the Malaysian newspaper New Straits Times reported in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.

The newspaper said the initial proposal was made by Cambodia.

The Thai minister announced the talks after a special meeting of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Malaysia’s capital. The meeting dealt with the border conflict between the two member states.

The planned talks were confirmed by ASEAN. The group’s foreign ministers welcomed the agreement on a meeting of the border committee and “reaffirmed the shared commitment to refrain from the threat or use of force, peaceful settlement of disputes, and respect for [an] international boundary and of international law.”

Fighting in several areas along the Thai-Cambodian border is now entering its third week. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced on both sides.

The conflict stems from a decades-long dispute over territorial claims. Both countries accuse each other of being the first to violate the most recent ceasefire.