Army chief of staff insists Cambodia must announce ceasefire first
Army chief of staff Gen Chaiyapruek says Cambodia, which opened fire on December 8, must announce a ceasefire first before conditions are discussed.
The chief of staff of the Royal Thai Army insisted on Thursday that Cambodia must be the first to announce a ceasefire before the two countries proceed with ceasefire talks.
RTA chief of staff Gen Chaiyapruek Duangprapat said Cambodia was the side that opened fire, leading to a second round of border clashes since December 8. As a result, he said Cambodia must be the first to announce a ceasefire before the two countries can agree on ceasefire conditions.
Chaiyapruek told reporters that Cambodia had sent a letter to Thailand expressing its wish for both countries to announce a ceasefire at the same time, in an apparent effort to maintain support at home.
However, he said Thailand insisted Cambodia must be the first to announce a ceasefire.
He said it remained to be seen whether the General Border Committee (GBC) meeting, which began on Wednesday evening, would lead to a ceasefire. He said only the secretariat-level meeting had started and it would run until December 26, before a ministerial meeting between the two defence ministers begins on December 27.
Chaiyapruek said that although the GBC meeting was ongoing, fighting continued and the army would do its best to defend national territory.
He said the army had secured most areas as planned, but had yet to take control of some remaining areas. He added that forces would step up operations to complete the mission as quickly as possible.
Asked whether Thai forces had neutralised Cambodian troops, Chaiyapruek said about 90% of the Cambodian forces that had occupied Thai territory had been crippled. However, he said Cambodia still had substantial weaponry positioned deeper inside its territory.
“I won’t discuss details, but I think we have satisfactorily reached our targets,” he said.
