By Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat
BANGKOK (Reuters) -Military commanders from Thailand and Cambodia held talks on Tuesday as calm returned to their disputed border and displaced residents began trickling back, following the Southeast Asian neighbours announcing a truce to end five days of fighting.
Thai and Cambodian leaders met in Malaysia on Monday and agreed to a ceasefire deal to halt their deadliest conflict in more than a decade that has killed at least 40 people, mostly civilians, and displaced over 300,000 in both countries.
Although Thailand’s military said that there had been attacks by Cambodian troops in at least five locations early on Tuesday, violating the ceasefire that had come into effect from midnight, commanders from both sides met and held talks, a Thai army spokesperson said.
Cambodia denied the charge, insisting that its troops have strictly abided by the ceasefire since midnight and continue to uphold it, according to a statement by Defence Minister Tea Seiha.
Negotiations so far include those between the general leading Thailand’s 2nd region army, which oversees the stretch of the frontier that has seen the heaviest fighting during the conflict, and his Cambodian counterpart, Thai Major Gen. Winthai Suvaree told reporters.
The commanders, who met at the border, agreed to maintain the ceasefire, stop any troop movement, and facilitate the return of the wounded and dead bodies, he said.
“Each side will establish a coordinating team of four to resolve any problems,” Winthai said.
Both militaries have agreed not to deploy more troops along their disputed border, said Lim Menghour, Director-General of the Commission on Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the National Assembly of Cambodia, who also underlined the need for international observers to monitor the ceasefire.
“That is the key to monitor all the terms and agreements from the meeting yesterday,” he told Reuters.
In Bangkok, Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said his government had filed complaints with Malaysia, the United States and China over Cambodia’s alleged ceasefire violations – but calm had returned to border areas.
Vehicular traffic and daily activity resumed in the Kantharalak district of Thailand’s Sisaket province on Tuesday, about 30 km (20 miles) from the frontlines, where Thai and Cambodian troops remain amassed.
Chaiya Phumjaroen, 51, said he returned to town to reopen his shop early on Tuesday, after hearing of the ceasefire deal on the news.
“I am very happy that a ceasefire happened,” he said. “If they continue to fight, we have no opportunity to make money.”
In Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province, 63-year-old Ly Kim Eng sat in front of a makeshift tarpaulin shelter, waiting for directions after hearing of the ceasefire deal.
“So, if the authorities announce it is safe for all of the refugees to return home, I would immediately return,” he said.
TALKS AND TRADE
The Southeast Asian neighbours have wrangled for decades over their disputed frontier and have been on a conflict footing since the killing of a Cambodian soldier in a skirmish late in May, which led to a troop buildup on both sides and a full-blown diplomatic crisis.
Monday’s peace talks came after a sustained push by Malaysian Premier Anwar Ibrahim and U.S. President Donald Trump, with the latter warning Thai and Cambodian leaders that trade negotiations would not progress if fighting continued.
Thailand and Cambodia face a tariff of 36% on their goods in the U.S., their biggest export market, unless a reduction can be negotiated. After the ceasefire deal was reached, Trump said he had spoken to both leaders and had instructed his trade team to restart tariff talks.
Pichai Chunhavajira, Thailand’s finance minister, said on Tuesday that trade talks with Washington are expected to be concluded before August 1, and that U.S. tariffs on the country are not expected to be as high as 36%.
The ceasefire deal reflected a rare convergence of interest between the U.S. and China, which also pushed for the talks, but the agreement itself remained fragile and third-party monitoring was essential to keep it in place, said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University.
“The ceasefire agreement has to be enforced,” he said. “It cannot be left to Thailand and Cambodia to implement because the hostilities are running so deep now.”
(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat in BANGKOK, Shoon Naing in KANTHARALAK and Zaw Naing Oo and Chantha Lach in ODDAR MEANCHEY; Additional reporting by Poppy McPherson, Juarawee Kittisilpa and Chayut Setboonsarng in BANGKOK; Writing by Devjyot Ghoshal; Editing by John Mair and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
