PUTRAJAYA, June 7 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today Malaysia is prepared to help Thailand and Cambodia reach a peaceful solution amid tension along the two countries’ northern borders.
Malaysia currently chairs the ten-member Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean), and Anwar held talks last night with the prime ministers of both countries as he sought to de-escalate the dispute, which reportedly caused one fatality.
“I have spoken to both of them and they’ve taken steps that we support, that includes dialogue at a meeting on June 14,” he told reporters after performing the Aidiladha prayers here.
“We are ready to observe and help if necessary, but so far, both nations have agreed to talk.”
Thai and Cambodian troops were reported to have engaged in a brief skirmish in Thailand’s Ubon Ratchathani province and Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province on May 28, which killed one Cambodian soldier.
Phnom Penh said it plans to bring the matter to the International Court of Justice, while Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra yesterday expressed willingness to solve the dispute peacefully.
