(Adnkronos) – China has offered its help to mend relations between Thailand and Cambodia, after the most serious border clashes in recent decades. The announcement came during a meeting in China between the foreign ministers of the three countries, on the sidelines of a regional Mekong conference in Yunnan province.
Last month, yet another border dispute between the two Southeast Asian neighbors escalated with artillery shelling and infantry clashes, causing at least 43 casualties and over 300,000 displaced people. A ceasefire, reached after five days of violence thanks also to the intervention of US President Donald Trump, was extended last week following talks between defense officials in Malaysia.
“China is willing to provide the necessary assistance based on the will of both parties,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, according to a note from Beijing. Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa thanked China for its mediating role and called for greater cooperation with Phnom Penh in clearing mines in the border area. Although the ceasefire is holding, several Thai soldiers have been injured by explosions of devices, whose recent laying is disputed between the two governments.
