KUALA LUMPUR, December 16 – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today that the Special Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting scheduled for Tuesday has been postponed at the request of Thailand and Cambodia, as fighting along their shared border intensifies and raises fears of further escalation.
Speaking in Petaling Jaya on December 15, Anwar said both sides remain in daily contact with Malaysia and Asean, but acknowledged that efforts to halt the violence are proving difficult, despite his earlier role in brokering a ceasefire that quickly collapsed.
Renewed clashes, reportedly triggered by a December 7 skirmish that injured Thai soldiers, have left more than two dozen people dead and displaced over half a million, with tensions fuelled by longstanding territorial disputes over frontier land and ancient temple sites.
While Anwar stressed that negotiations are ongoing amid reports—later denied by Thailand—of a possible naval blockade against Cambodia.
