Kuala lumpur: Secretariat-level discussions between Thailand and Cambodia, which took place over three days starting Monday, have reached a consensus in principle on key issues relating to the implementation of the ceasefire along their shared border.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Chief of Defence Force Gen Tan Sri Mohd Nizam Jaffar stated that the discussions included an agreement on the terms of reference (TOR) for monitoring efforts by the interim ASEAN Defence Attache Observer Team and the ASEAN Defence Attache Observer Team (AOT). He expressed that a basic consensus had been achieved, although several matters are still being refined and will be finalized during the Extraordinary General Border Committee (GBC) Meeting scheduled for tomorrow.

The secretariat-level meeting was conducted at Wisma Perwira of the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) and involved 40 representatives from Thailand and Cambodia in preparation for the Extraordinary GBC Meeting. The interim ASEAN Defence Attache Observer Team, which began its mission on August 3, includes members from Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam, in addition to Malaysia.

Gen Mohd Nizam noted that Malaysia did not participate in the three-day secretariat meeting and only acted as a facilitator prior to the upcoming Extraordinary GBC Meeting. The ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia, effective from midnight on July 28, was reached through a special meeting in Malaysia chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. This meeting was crucial in bringing the two Southeast Asian nations to the negotiating table after rising tensions.

The tensions escalated on May 28 when fighting erupted in the disputed Preah Vihear area, leading to the death of a Cambodian soldier.