United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio said state department officials were in Malaysia to assist in ceasefire negotiations between Cambodia and Thailand on Monday (28)
Each country and monitoring the situation closely, the secretary said in a statement issued by the State Department on Sunday night (27) in the US.
“We want this conflict to end as soon as possible,” he said.
Understand the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia
Countries share an 817 km land border. The demarcation was done by France, which controlled Cambodia as a colony.
The division resulted in an old dispute involving areas where historical sites and temples are, the two countries claim property.
Cambodia had already sought a decision of the UN International Court of Justice on dispute areas, including the place of the most recent confrontation.
But Thailand does not recognize the jurisdiction of the CIJ and claims that some areas along the border have never been fully demarcated, including places from various old temples.
In 2011, Thai and Cambodian troops clashed in an area near the PREAH VIHEAR temple of the eleventh century, UNESCO World Heritage, displacing thousands of people on both sides and killing at least 20.
