Thailand's caretaker Prime Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, vowed on Saturday to keep fighting on the disputed border with Cambodia, with Thai fighter jets striking targets hours after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed he had brokered a new ceasefire.
President Trump, who had previously brokered a ceasefire in October, announced on Friday that both Thai and Cambodian leaders had agreed to "cease all shooting" following his calls with Prime Minister Anutin and Cambodian premier Hun Manet.
Anutin Charnvirakul publicly denied any ceasefire agreement. He posted on Facebook that Thailand would "continue to perform military actions until we feel no more harm and threats to our land and people," adding, "Our actions this morning already spoke."
Cambodian Premier Hun Manet did not confirm a ceasefire agreement with Trump but welcomed a separate proposal put forward by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to cease hostilities from Saturday evening.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who chairs the 10-nation ASEAN grouping and has been a mediator in peace talks, urged both sides to "refrain from any further military actions... starting at 1500 GMT" (Saturday).
Anwar announced that an ASEAN observer team, led by the Malaysian chief of defense forces, would be deployed to the border, and the U.S. government would provide satellite monitoring capabilities.
When asked about the Malaysian proposal, Thai Prime Minister Anutin reiterated, "there has been no agreement on halting anything." Thailand’s foreign minister stated that the country would cooperate with the observer team, but insisted that any ceasefire must be preceded by talks, stating, "We can't just announce a ceasefire while the fighting is going on."
The continued fighting and the public denial of a ceasefire by the Thai leader stand in direct contradiction to the announcement made by the White House.
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