China urges Cambodia, Thailand to exercise calm and restraint, come to ceasefire

BEIJING, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday called on Cambodia and Thailand to remain calm and exercise restraint and achieve a ceasefire as soon as possible, while rejecting speculation arising from the reported use of Chinese weapons.

Jiang Bin, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks when responding to a media query, saying that China has long carried out defense cooperation with both Cambodia and Thailand, including military trade. He stressed that such cooperation is not targeted at any third party, complies fully with international law and international practices, and is of no relation to the border conflict.

He said that China hopes relevant parties will refrain from subjective speculation and malicious hype.

As a friendly neighbor of both Cambodia and Thailand, China is following the developments of the border conflict closely, and is deeply saddened by the casualties suffered by the people of the two countries, Jiang noted.

He expressed the hope that both sides will act in the fundamental interests of border peace and stability, as well as the well-being of their people, and that they will maintain the utmost calm and restraint, achieve a ceasefire at an early date, and return to resolving their differences through dialogue and consultation.

China will continue working to promote peace talks, and will play a constructive role in facilitating a ceasefire and in rebuilding peace between Cambodia and Thailand, Jiang said. ■