Bangkok, Dec 24 Military delegates from Thailand and Cambodia convened a meeting at the Thai side of the border in Chanthaburi province on Wednesday to prepare for formal talks regarding a ceasefire and monitoring mechanisms along their disputed border.
The Secretariat-level meeting of the General Border Committee (GBC) began at the Ban Phak Kat permanent checkpoint. At around 4:25 pm local time, the Cambodian delegation arrived for a half-hour preliminary discussion.
Speaking to reporters after the session, GBC Secretary for the Thai side Nuttapong Praokaew stated that the initial talks focused on setting the agenda for a full-delegation meeting scheduled for 9 am on Thursday, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Both sides have already exchanged their respective standpoints, Natthaphong noted.
"In this meeting, both parties will discuss and exchange documents to prepare for the upcoming 3rd Special GBC meeting, which is scheduled to be held on December 27, 2025, in order to ensure the cessation of hostilities and find solutions to restore stability between the two countries, as well as to facilitate a swift return to normalcy," said Cambodian Ministry of Defence's Undersecretary of State and Spokesperson Lt General Maly Socheata.
Thai Defence Ministry spokesperson Surasant Kongsiri said earlier on Wednesday that the secretariat meeting will take place from Wednesday to Friday.
If these preliminary discussions proceed smoothly, they will be followed by a meeting between the defence ministers of both nations on Saturday, he told a press briefing.
Earlier in the day, Cambodia said that the Thai military used fighter jets to drop cluster bombs in Banteay Meanchey province. The Thai army responded that the cluster bombs deployed exclusively targetted military objectives.
The Thai military also used fighter jets to drop four bombs into civilian areas in Battambang province, the Cambodian Ministry of Defence said in a press release, Xinhua News Agency reported.
The Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority on Tuesday expressed its grave concern regarding reports of Thailand's use of cluster munitions and toxic gas in or near civilian areas.
Winthai Suvaree, spokesperson for the Royal Thai Army, said on Wednesday that what Cambodia claimed to be cluster bombs were used against military targets, and these shells are not weapons designed to harm civilians.
Winthai emphasized that the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits parties from using, producing, or stockpiling such weapons, is not binding because neither Thailand nor Cambodia is a party to the convention.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor