Thailand seeks direct talks with Cambodia

Reuters: Thailand has rejected mediation efforts from a third country to end the ongoing conflict with Cambodia, insisting that Phnom Penh cease attacks and resolve the dispute solely through bilateral talks, the Thai Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

This follows Thursday’s deployment of an F‑16 fighter jet, which bombed a military target in Cambodia after artillery volleys from both sides killed at least 11 civilians in the latest escalation of border clashes.

Moreover, the United States, China, and Malaysia—the current chair of the ASEAN regional bloc—have all offered to facilitate dialogue.

However, Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura told Reuters, “I don’t think we need any mediation from a third country yet.”

Bangkok’s stance comes amid a full‑blown diplomatic crisis that saw ambassadors expelled and troops reinforced on both sides after a Cambodian soldier was killed in a brief skirmish in May.

Thailand has maintained that any resolution must await a complete cessation of hostilities before direct talks can proceed.

On the other hand, at least 16 people were killed as Thailand and Cambodia exchanged heavy artillery fire on Friday, marking the second day of their worst border clashes in over a decade, despite growing international calls for an immediate ceasefire.

Thailand's military reported clashes from before dawn in the Ubon Ratchathani and Surin provinces and said Cambodia had used artillery and Russian-made BM-21 rocket systems. Authorities said 100,000 people had been evacuated from conflict areas on the Thai side.

"Cambodian forces have conducted sustained bombardment utilising heavy weapons, field artillery and BM-21 rocket systems," the Thai military said in a statement.

Both sides blamed each other for starting the conflict on Thursday at a disputed border area, which quickly escalated from small arms fire to heavy shelling in at least six locations, 209 km (130 miles) apart along a frontier where sovereignty has been disputed for more than a century.

Thailand and Cambodia have long disputed sovereignty over undemarcated sections of their 817-kilometer border, first mapped by France in 1907 during Cambodia’s colonial era.

Thailand later contested this map, which followed a natural watershed line as the boundary. In 2000, both countries created a Joint Boundary Commission to resolve claims peacefully, but progress has been minimal. Nationalist tensions flared in 2003 when protests in Phnom Penh led to the burning of the Thai embassy and businesses after a Thai celebrity questioned Cambodia’s claim to the World Heritage-listed Angkor Wat temple.

Tensions escalated further in 2008 when Cambodia sought UNESCO World Heritage status for the Preah Vihear temple, triggering years of clashes that caused at least a dozen deaths, including a weeklong artillery exchange in 2011.

In 2013, Cambodia requested a reinterpretation of a 1962 International Court of Justice ruling, which reaffirmed its ownership of the temple’s surrounding land and ordered Thai troops to withdraw.

Tensions took a turn between the Southeast Asian neighbours in May, following the killing of a Cambodian soldier during a brief exchange of gunfire, and have steadily escalated since.

Clashes erupted early Thursday near a disputed ancient temple, quickly spreading along the contested border with heavy artillery firing into the second day.

In response to a Thai soldier losing a limb to a landmine, Thailand recalled its ambassador and expelled Cambodia's envoy, an accusation Cambodia denied.

Both sides blame each other for starting the fighting, which has killed at least 15 civilians, mostly Thai.