Overview

• Talks convened under Malaysian auspices with Thailand’s interim premier Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodia’s Hun Manet present alongside US and Chinese mediators
• Negotiations aim to establish an immediate ceasefire following artillery exchanges at dawn that capped four days of clashes killing at least 34 and displacing over 200,000 civilians
• Thailand’s Royal Air Force deployed six Lockheed Martin F-16A/B jets in response to Cambodian rocket and artillery strikes near Preah Vihear and other contested temple sites
• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese officials have publicly endorsed the Malaysian-led talks and urged both sides to cease hostilities without delay
• The dispute, rooted in French colonial-era maps and a 1962 ICJ ruling on Preah Vihear’s sovereignty, has periodically flared into violence despite the temple’s UNESCO World Heritage status