Overview
- Four days of General Border Committee secretariat talks began on December 24 at a Chanthaburi border checkpoint after a venue dispute, with a high-level session planned for December 27.
- Cross-border clashes continued during the talks, with Thailand reporting BM-21 rocket fire in Sisaket and Surin and retaliatory strikes, while Cambodia alleged Thai air attacks and shelling in Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, Preah Vihear and Poipet.
- Officials report more than 40 deaths overall and roughly 900,000 to about a million displaced; Cambodia says 21 civilians have been killed and 83 injured, and although Phnom Penh has not announced troop deaths, the prime minister’s wife attended soldiers’ funerals.
- Thailand outlined priorities for the talks that include demining, protecting historical sites, stopping heavy weapons fire from civilian areas, and ending the use of civilian buildings for military purposes, and it warned a ministerial deal depends on technical progress.
- ASEAN urged maximum restraint and steps toward a verifiable ceasefire, and China’s special envoy conducted shuttle diplomacy, saying Beijing stands ready to support dialogue and observation efforts.