Overview
- Thailand says secretariat-level talks will open Dec. 24 in Chanthaburi despite Cambodia’s request to move the meeting to neutral Kuala Lumpur.
- The Thai defense ministry set conditions on technical frameworks and warned it will not advance to the General Border Committee session or sign any deal without progress.
- Cross-border fire continued with rockets, artillery and airstrikes reported, as Phnom Penh alleged Thai strikes in Siem Reap and Preah Vihear and Bangkok cited Cambodian rocket barrages and retaliatory air raids.
- Deaths now exceed 40 and displacement tops 900,000, with officials reporting damage to homes, schools, medical centers and other civilian sites.
- ASEAN called for maximum restraint and a return to dialogue, and China’s envoy conducted shuttle diplomacy and offered to facilitate renewed talks.