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Thailand and Cambodia are withdrawing heavy weapons and conducting de-mining operations along their contested border as part of a plan to de-escalate tensions following last week’s signing of an extended truce, Thai officials said on Monday.
Thai and Cambodian leaders signed an enhanced ceasefire deal last week in Kuala Lumpur in the presence of US president Donald Trump, three months after border tensions between the two countries exploded into a deadly five-day conflict.
Government spokesperson Siripong Angkasakulkiat said Thailand would not release any of the 18 Cambodian soldiers taken captive during the conflict or reopen border checkpoints until it assessed that Cambodia was adhering to the agreement.
Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, a Thai defence ministry spokesman, told a press conference that de-mining operations along the border had begun, with Thailand proposing the removal of land mines in 13 areas and Cambodia in one.
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A convoy of howitzers moves along a street in Preah Vihear province of Cambodia (AKP via AFP)
On Friday, the two countries said in a joint statement that they had agreed to withdraw heavy weapons from the border in three phases, starting with rocket systems, followed by artillery and then tanks and other armoured vehicles.
On Saturday, the Cambodian defence ministry said the first phase of the withdrawal was scheduled to take three weeks from 1 November.
“We expect the withdrawal of heavy weapons to be concluded by the end of the year,” Mr Surasant said on Monday.
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Cambodian soldiers stand next to a convoy of rocket launchers in Preah Vihear province (AKP via AFP)
The two nations have also stepped up joint efforts to combat transnational cybercrime and have been working on an urgent joint demarcation effort in disputed border areas, he said.
The five-day war in July killed at least 48 people and temporarily displaced hundreds of thousands on both sides. It was the worst fighting between the two sides in decades.
An initial ceasefire brokered by Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim with the help of the US was signed on 28 July.
