Prime Minister Dato' Seri Anwar stated that Thailand and Cambodia must reach a ceasefire agreement to prevent major powers from having an opportunity to intervene and participate in negotiations among ASEAN countries.
“Even if peacekeeping forces need to be stationed at the Thai-Cambodian border in the future, they should be limited to ASEAN member states.”
“If the United States or China is willing to provide logistical support, we welcome it, but only on the premise that they provide solely technical or equipment assistance. For now, this is our stance.”
He made these remarks today (5th) during the Prime Minister's Q&A session in Parliament, responding to the query from PKR’s Sungai Petani MP, Taufiq Johari, regarding the ASEAN Military Monitoring Team (AMT) led by Malaysia and the duration of their monitoring at the Thai-Cambodian border.
He was also asked whether Malaysia would continue to serve as the coordinating chair of the boundary commission after its ASEAN presidency ends.
Anwar replied that he had been entrusted to mediate the Thai-Cambodian conflict until the issue is resolved, and is therefore not limited by Malaysia's tenure as rotating ASEAN chair. He expects a solution can be reached within three months at the latest.
“However, no negotiation should be restricted by time constraints. What we emphasize is that a ceasefire must be achieved in order to prevent major power intervention.”