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Thailand-Cambodia ‘deep mistrust’ tests Asean’s peacekeeping role
Asean observers may ease tensions for now, but a lasting peace on the Thai-Cambodian border requires sustained engagement, analysts say
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The deployment of Asean observers along the Cambodia-Thailand frontier marks a fresh test for Southeast Asia’s capacity to police its own peace, even as entrenched mistrust between the two nations threatens to expose the limits of the regional bloc’s effectiveness.
Cambodia and Thailand have consented to the stationing of observers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to be stationed on both sides of their disputed border, tasked with monitoring a precarious ceasefire after last month’s deadly five-day conflict.
The agreement, reached on Thursday under the auspices of a General Border Committee jointly established by both countries, followed four days of intensive truce talks led by Asean chair Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. Security chiefs, including Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Seiha and Thailand’s acting defence minister Nattaphon Narkphanit, formulated a 13-point plan to de-escalate tensions.
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Key elements of the ceasefire include a mutual freeze on troop movements and civilian attacks along the border, as well as a commitment to halt the use of all weapons. The recent hostilities have left at least 43 dead and displaced more than 300,000 people.
However, Asean’s peacekeeping efforts might be hampered by “the deep mistrust between Cambodia and Thailand and the fact they have different preferences when it comes to how best to resolve the border disputes”, said Abdul Rahman Yaacob, a research fellow at the Lowy Institute’s Southeast Asia programme.
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