Overview
- Thailand on Tuesday rejected Cambodia’s request to move this week’s negotiations to neutral Kuala Lumpur, insisting on hosting the meeting in Chanthaburi under the pre-existing border committee.
- The venue dispute threatens talks the two sides agreed to pursue after an ASEAN foreign ministers’ session in Kuala Lumpur that sought a durable ceasefire.
- Official figures now record at least 44 deaths since the latest hostilities began, with more than 900,000 people displaced and Cambodia reporting 518,611 evacuees inside the country.
- Cambodia’s Defense Ministry accused Thailand of deploying F-16s to bomb areas in Siem Reap and Preah Vihear on Monday, following the regional talks.
- Thai officials have reiterated preconditions for a truce, urging Phnom Penh to announce a ceasefire first and to cooperate on demining as authorities warn returning villagers about mines and unexploded ordnance.