Thai PM Anutin to speak with US President Trump about ongoing border clashes with Cambodia, now in their fifth day with casualties mounting.
BANGKOK/PHNOM PENH: Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said he would speak to U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday night about a fierce conflict with Cambodia, as heavy border clashes continued for a fifth day.
Thailand and Cambodia have been exchanging rockets and artillery at multiple locations along their disputed 817-km (508-mile) frontier in some of the most intense clashes since a five-day battle in July, which Trump stopped with calls to both leaders to halt their worst conflict in recent history.
Anutin will provide “just an update” of the situation when he speaks with Trump around 9:20 p.m. Thai time (1420 GMT), the Thai leader told reporters.
ALSO READ: Thai PM moves to dissolve parliament, setting stage for elections
Trump is keen to intervene again to stop the fighting and salvage the truce he brokered, pledging for a third day to call the leaders of the Southeast Asian countries. He met Anutin and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet in Malaysia in October, where they signed an expanded ceasefire agreement.
Trump, who has repeatedly said he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, lauded himself on Thursday as a global peacemaker and expressed confidence he would get the truce “back on track”.
At the Congressional Ball, he reiterated his claim to have “solved eight wars”, adding, “I think we are going to have to make a couple of phone calls on Thailand and (Cambodia), but we’ll get that one back on track.”
CAMBODIA ACCUSES THAILAND OF ‘BRUTAL ARMED ACTS AND AGGRESSION’
This week’s clashes have killed at least 20 people, with more than 260 wounded, according to tallies by both countries, which have blamed each other for reigniting the conflict.
Cambodia’s defence ministry said on Friday that Thailand had targeted civilian areas the previous day in “brutal armed attacks and aggression”. It said Thailand was shelling and firing machine guns on multiple sites early on Friday, including near ancient temples, and had sent armoured vehicles into what it called its territory.
“The heroic Cambodian forces will continue to stand strong, brave, and steadfast in their ongoing fight against the aggressors,” the ministry said in a statement.
Thailand’s military accused Cambodia of encroachment into its territory, saying in a statement it was “compelled to exercise its right to self-defence” with the objective of ending the threat and protecting lives and sovereignty.
It is unclear if Trump will be able to secure an immediate cessation of the hostilities this time.
Thailand’s army has made clear it wants to cripple Cambodia’s military capability and Anutin has given the army his backing to fully implement operations he said have been planned by the armed forces.
A top adviser to Hun Manet told Reuters this week that Phnom Penh was “ready at any time” for dialogue, while Thailand has rejected mediation and said Cambodia must show sincerity before any bilateral negotiations can happen.
Thailand said on Friday its top diplomat, Sihasak Phuangketkeow, had spoken with U.S. counterpart Marco Rubio and relayed that Bangkok was committed to peace, but expressed concern about Cambodia’s “repeated and escalating patterns of attacks”.
Cambodian government spokesperson Pen Bona said he was not aware a call had been scheduled between Hun Manet and Trump. “But normally, our PM is always ready to talk,” he said.
Hun Manet in August nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.
THAI PM SAYS HIS GOVERNMENT WILL DECIDE NEXT STEPS
Anutin has so far been less committal on a diplomatic solution. Earlier this week, when asked about Trump’s plan to intervene, he said it “cannot be as simple as picking up the phone”.
On Friday, he said Thailand’s next steps in the conflict with Cambodia were the prerogative of his government and the military.
“I think it’s just an update. He would probably ask how things are now,” Anutin said of the call with Trump.
“As for decisions and actions, those are matters for the Thai government, which has already given its support and delegated authority to the Thai armed forces to proceed.”
Facing a possible no-confidence motion amid turmoil in parliament over a process to amend the constitution, Anutin dissolved the house on Friday for an election expected in February, adding to uncertainty in Thailand at a time of armed conflict and prolonged economic malaise.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by the border fighting on both sides. At a shelter in the Thai border province of Surin, evacuees who gathered around a campfire early on Friday said the news that Thailand had a caretaker government was just one of many problems they face.
“There’s no certainty. The government has never cared about solving the border conflict anyway. I’ve always had to flee from the clashes a number of times,” said 60-year-old Yod Lengtharmdee. – Reuters
