(Kuala Lumpur, 21st) Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar said that the suggestion to increase the number of observers to monitor the ceasefire situation between Thailand and Cambodia is purely to ensure that the security and stability of the region continue to be safeguarded, and is not intended as intervention.
He pointed out that the number of members in the existing ASEAN Interim Observer Team (IOT) should be more evenly distributed between the two countries.
"For example, we have 10 personnel in Bangkok but only 2 in Phnom Penh, so the number must be increased.
"If that is not enough, additional teams can be dispatched from defense attachés and embassies, with other teams providing support."
He said this to the media after attending the closing ceremony of the 2025 ASEAN Legal Forum today.
Thailand's acting Prime Minister Puttan on Wednesday rejected the proposal to send more international observers to monitor the ceasefire situation at the Thai-Cambodian border.
Puttan said that Anwar had contacted him on Tuesday, raising the suggestion to increase the number of international observers on the grounds that the ASEAN Interim Observer Team could not undertake the task alone.