Secretary General Of ASEAN Urges Thailand-Kamboja To Comply With Ceasefire

JAKARTA - ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn urged Thailand and Cambodia to adhere to the ceasefire and put peace as a priority, amid the re-emergence of open conflict on the borders of the two countries.

Without directly mentioning the names of the enemies, Kao emphasized that all ASEAN members, including Thailand and Cambodia, are obliged to uphold the principles of the ASEAN Charter and the Friendship and Cooperation Agreement (TAC).

"This basis encourages us to uphold the resolution of disputes peacefully, strengthen cooperation, and ensure that peace and stability are realized in our territory," said Secretary General of ASEAN when welcoming the Prime Minister of Timor Leste Xanana Gusmao at the ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta, Thursday, December 11, as reported by ANTARA.

Kao highlighted that the escalation of the conflict is now a concern of regional and global media. This situation prompted ASEAN and world leaders to urge the two countries to stop the war.

Moreover, the conflict that occurred had a direct impact on the people living on both sides of the border between Cambodia and Thailand, who are both members of ASEAN.

"Until our external partners, including the United Nations Secretary-General, helped push for a ceasefire, deescalation of tensions, and the return of dialogue and diplomacy approaches," said Kao.

He expressed deep concern that the tension arose at an important moment, namely after ASEAN officially accepted Timor Leste as a full member of the 47th Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last October.

Kao hopes that the conflict can be resolved completely through peaceful means according to ASEAN values. "Give peace of opportunity," he said.

Tensions on the Thai and Cambodian borders have escalated since last weekend after the two sides accused each other of violating the ceasefire.

The latest clashes since Monday (8/12) have killed nine civilians in Cambodia and six Thai soldiers, and forced more than half a million people to flee on both sides of the border, with Bangkok using F-16 fighter jets to bombard its southern neighbor.

Disputes between the two countries continued to escalate even though Cambodia and Thailand had just signed a peace agreement on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit last October, as a commitment of the two countries to reduce tensions.