Defense officials from Thailand and Cambodia agreed to hold ceasefire talks later this week, as Southeast Asian foreign ministers held an emergency meeting yesterday in Kuala Lumpur.

The Special ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on the Current Situation Between Cambodia and Thailand, as it was officially termed, was intended to end the fighting that has raged between the two neighbors since December 7. The conflict has so far killed at least 22 people in Thailand and 19 in Cambodia, according to official counts, and displaced upwards of 750,000 people on both sides of the border.

In a chair’s statement released after the meeting, the ministers said that they “welcomed the discussions on resumption of the ceasefire and cessation of hostilities.” While the meeting itself failed to bring about a ceasefire, the statement announced that the General Border Committee (GBC), an existing bilateral mechanism between Thailand and Cambodia, will convene on December 24 “to discuss the implementation and verification of the ceasefire.”

“The ASEAN Foreign Ministers expressed hope for de-escalation of hostilities as soon as possible,” it stated. The Meeting also “urged Cambodia and Thailand to exercise maximum restraint and take immediate steps toward the cessation of all forms of hostilities” and “called on both countries to restore mutual trust and confidence,........

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