The US has shared their hopes for a successful conclusion to today’s extraordinary General Border Committee (GBC) meeting, taking place in Malaysia.
It pledged to provide technical support for the implementation of a permanent ceasefire between Cambodia and Thailand, including through monitoring.
Minister of National Defence Tea Seiha met with Admiral Samuel Paparo, Commander of the US Indo-Pacific forces, and Edgard Kagan, US ambassador to Malaysia on August 6, on the eve of the GBC meeting.
“The two US representatives officials emphasised their commitment to the implementation of a monitored ceasefire, to ensure its success and effectiveness. The US pledged to provide crucial logistic and technical support, to expedite the establishment of an ASEAN monitoring team,” explained defence ministry spokesperson Maly Socheata, at a briefing this morning.
“Additionally, the US highlighted its ongoing commitment to military planning and equipment provision, including deployment systems, space-based aerial surveillance technology and other cutting-edge technology. This effort demonstrates their strong dedication and readiness to contribute toward building a genuine lasting peace,” she added.
Seiha also took to social media to share the US commitment.
“Excellency Ambassador and Admiral Paparo emphasised that the United States will actively monitor the situation to ensure the successful and effective implementation of the ceasefire. They also confirmed their commitment to provide key logistical and technical support to the establishment of an ASEAN Monitoring Team (AMT) as soon as possible,” he said.
Ahead of today’s extraordinary meeting today in Malaysia, Seiha met with General Mohamed Nizam, Commander-in-Chief of the Malaysian armed forces. The Malaysian side also expressed their readiness to facilitate the implementation of the ceasefire.
The Malaysians will support the development of Terms of References (TOR), paving the way for the establishment of an AMT, which is expected to be an effective mechanism to ensure the ceasefire and restore peace.
According to Socheata, the August 4-6 GBC secretariat meetings saw both Cambodian and Thai representatives actively engage on common ground, with both sides accepting many of their counterpart’s requests.
“Several Cambodian proposals were accepted by the Thai side, while Cambodia also agreed to a number of constructive points put forward by Thailand,” she added.
