Ahead of the General Border Committee (GBC) meeting on Thursday, National Defense Minister Tea Seiha met with the U.S. Indo-Pacific commander to discuss the effective implementation of the ceasefire deal reached with Thailand.
The U.S has also committed to help establish the ASEAN Monitoring Team (AMT) and the use of space-based and aerial surveillance systems to monitor, Seiha wrote on his Facebook page on Wednesday.
He said the U.S. will assist in military planning, equipment, deployment system, space based and air surveillance system, and other cutting edge technology. It will also provide key logistical technical support of the establishment of the AMT, to ensure effective implementation of the ceasefire deal reached on July 28.
“These contributions reflect the U.S. readiness to support a genuine lasting peace,” Seiha said after meeting U.S Samuel Paparo, Commander of the Indo-Pacific, and ambassador Edgard Kagan in Malaysia on Wednesday.
The GBC talks, which is part of the ceasefire agreement brokered by Malaysia following five days of border clashes between Cambodia and Thailand, is being held today, after three days of discussions by the secretariat. The GBC meeting was moved after renewed friction, with both sides trading blame for fresh violations of the truce.
The talks today will be monitored by the U.S., China and Malaysia, in its capacity as the current ASEAN chair.
Seiha also discussed with Malaysian Armed Forces chief Mohamed Nizam, who assured commitment to implement the ceasefire, and the importance of developing a Terms of Reference (TOR) and establishing the AMT.
He noticed that the three-day GBC’s secretariat team meeting showed constructive and positive discussion, with both sides accepting inputs.
Deputy Defence Minister Gen Nattaphon Narkphanit, the leader of Thailand’s delegation at today’s GBC talks, said the meeting “will test Cambodia’s sincerity at the ministerial level,” but that the most important level is “implementation.”
At least 38 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in clashes in multiple locations along Cambodia and Thailand’s 800 km border with both sides reporting a total displacement of over 300,000 people, Reuters reported.
