JAKARTA - Thai and Cambodian leaders will attend mediation talks on the deadly border conflict in Malaysia on Monday, the Thai government said, although the two sides accuse each other of launching a new artillery strike on the disputed territory.
Negotiations are scheduled to start at 15.00 local time on Monday, with Acting Prime Minister Phamtham Wechayachai leading Thailand's negotiating team, the government announced in a statement on Sunday evening.
Malaysia, which leads the ASEAN regional cooperation forum, has notified the Thai government that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet will also attend the talks, the statement said.
Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia have risen since the killing of a Cambodian soldier in late May in a brief battle on the border. Border forces on both sides were strengthened amid the diplomatic crisis.
Clashes occurred again on Thursday and, in just four days, escalated to the worst fighting between the two neighboring Southeast Asian countries in more than a decade.
The death toll has risen to more than 30, including 13 civilians in Thailand and eight in Cambodia, while authorities have reported that more than 200,000 people have been evacuated from the border area.
Monday's negotiations came after Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim last week proposed a ceasefire. Earlier, United States President Donald Trump said on Saturday the two leaders had agreed to seek a ceasefire.
Bangkok and Phnom Penh each accused others of triggering hostilities last week.
Cambodia's Ministry of Defense said Thailand had opened fire and launched ground attacks on Sunday morning at several points along the border.
A ministry spokesman said heavy artillery was fired at the historic temple complex.
Meanwhile, the Thai military said Cambodian forces had opened fire in several areas, including near civilian homes, on Sunday, and were mobilizing long-range rocket launchers.
"The situation is still tense and Cambodian forces may be preparing for intensive military operations to cause maximum damage in the final stages before negotiations," the military said in a recent statement.
"For me, I think it would be great if Thailand agreed to stop fighting so that the two countries can live in peace," Phnom Penh Sreung University student Nita told Reuters.
Thailand and Cambodia have been at loggerheads for decades over unbounded points along their 817 km (508 miles) land border, with the ownership of the ancient Hindu temples Ta Moan Thom and 11th-century Preah Vihear at the heart of the dispute.
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Preah Vihear was given to Cambodia by the International Court in 1962, but the situation worsened in 2008 after Cambodia attempted to register it as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The dispute over the years resulted in at least a dozen deaths.
Cambodia said in June it had asked the International Court to resolve its dispute with Thailand.
On the other hand, Bangkok said it had never recognized the jurisdiction of the court and preferred a bilateral approach.
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