Cambodia and Thailand have expressed a willingness to de-escalate tensions and work towards a ceasefire in their current border conflict, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, and Beijing ramped up its efforts to mediate the conflict.

The announcement came after China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke separately by phone with Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow and Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn yesterday. During the call, Chinese state media reported, both envoys “briefed Wang on the latest developments regarding their border conflict and expressed their willingness to de-escalate the situation and cease fire.”

The call comes after 12 days of heavy fighting at numerous points along the two nations’ 817-kilometer shared border. The fighting, which has involved artillery, rocket fire, and numerous Thai F-16 strikes, has since killed at least 40 people and displaced 750,000 people in both nations. It also shattered a ceasefire brokered in July and the peace declaration that the two nations signed in Malaysia in late October. Both agreements were brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump, who effectively threatened the two nations with high import........

© The Diplomat