Thailand and Cambodia’s leaders are to meet in Malaysia for peace talks today, the Thai government said, as the countries clashed for a fourth day in a deadly border dispute.
At least 34 people have been killed and more than 200,000 displaced as the countries, both popular tourist destinations, fight over a smattering of contested border temples.
Bangkok yesterday announced that acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet would meet in Kuala Lumpur for talks mediated by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who chairs the ASEAN regional bloc of which Thailand and Cambodia are members.
Photo: EPA
US President Donald Trump, who spoke to both leaders yesterday, said they had agreed to “quickly work out” a ceasefire.
Trump has threatened both nations with eye-watering levies in his global tariff blitz unless they agree to independent trade deals.
“When all is done, and Peace is at hand, I look forward to concluding our Trading Agreements with both!” he wrote on social media.
Hun Manet said his country “agreed with the proposal for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire between the two armed forces.”
The border dispute erupted on Thursday with jets, tanks and ground troops battling in the rural border region, marked by a ridge of hills surrounded by wild jungle and agricultural land where locals farm rubber and rice.
Thailand says eight of its soldiers and 13 civilians have been killed, while Cambodia has confirmed eight civilian and five military deaths.
The conflict has forced more than 138,000 people to be evacuated from Thailand’s border regions, and 80,000 have been driven from their homes in Cambodia.
The Cambodian government has accused Thai forces of using cluster munitions, while Bangkok has accused Phnom Penh of targeting hospitals.
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People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
PEACE AND STABILITY: Maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ has long been the government’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is committed to maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and seeks no escalation of tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, rebutting a Time magazine opinion piece that described President William Lai (賴清德) as a “reckless leader.” The article, titled “The US Must Beware of Taiwan’s Reckless Leader,” was written by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank. Goldstein wrote that Taiwan is “the world’s most dangerous flashpoint” amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become less stable
CONCESSION: A Shin Kong official said that the firm was ‘willing to contribute’ to the nation, as the move would enable Nvidia Crop to build its headquarters in Taiwan Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would relinquish land-use rights, or known as surface rights, for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), paving the way for Nvidia Corp to expand its office footprint in Taiwan. The insurer said it made the decision “in the interest of the nation’s greater good” and would not seek compensation from taxpayers for potential future losses, calling the move a gesture to resolve a months-long impasse among the insurer, the Taipei City Government and the US chip giant. “The decision was made on the condition that the Taipei City Government reimburses the related
FRESH LOOK: A committee would gather expert and public input on the themes and visual motifs that would appear on the notes, the central bank governor said The central bank has launched a comprehensive redesign of New Taiwan dollar banknotes to enhance anti-counterfeiting measures, improve accessibility and align the bills with global sustainability standards, Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday. The overhaul would affect all five denominations — NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1,000 and NT$2,000 notes — but not coins, Yang said. It would be the first major update to the banknotes in 24 years, as the current series, introduced in 2001, has remained in circulation amid rapid advances in printing technology and security standards. “Updating the notes is essential to safeguard the integrity
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