PM Hun Manet: U.S. Says It Has Spoken With Thailand, Urges Implementation of Kuala Lumpur Peace Agreement

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said on October 7 that the U.S. Chargé d’Affaires to Cambodia paid him an urgent visit three days earlier and conveyed that the U.S. Secretary of State had communicated with the Thai side, urging Thailand to refrain from taking actions that would heighten tensions or be seen as attempts to encroach on Cambodian territory, and to earnestly implement the Kuala Lumpur Peace Agreement. Hun Manet said the U.S. side suggested that Thailand conduct boundary demarcation through the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) mechanism, in accordance with existing treaties, conventions and agreements, and also asked Cambodia to avoid taking actions that could heighten tensions. Hun Manet said Cambodia has always exercised restraint and has not taken such actions. He called on the United States, as the facilitator of the Kuala Lumpur Peace Agreement, to help push the Joint Boundary Commission to carry out boundary demarcation. He also said that since the ceasefire agreement was reached last December, Cambodia has consistently sought to resolve the dispute through diplomatic and legal mechanisms. If bilateral mechanisms fail to make progress, Cambodia will consider taking the matter through legal channels, including resolving maritime disputes under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.