US and China to attend part of GBC meeting in Malaysia

Thailand has agreed to China and the United States attending, to observe, the extraordinary General Border Committee (GBC) meeting, beginning on August 4, in Kuala Lumpur, but only on the final day.

In a letter to his GBC’s co-chair, Cambodia’s Defence Minister Gen Tea Seiha, Thailand’s Acting Defence Minister Gen Nattaphon Narkphanit said that Thailand has accepted Cambodia’s proposal to include representatives from China and the US at the meeting, but only on August 7.

Both countries agreed to an unconditional ceasefire late last month, to end the border clashes between their troops. The GBC meeting is part of the agreement, for them to sit down and discuss conflict resolution.

The GBC meeting was initially to be held in Phnom Penh, but the Thai side requested a change of venue to Kuala Lumpur, citing the sensitive political climate in both countries following recent border tensions.

Kuala Lumpur, where the two countries’ leaders met on July 28 and agreed to the truce, is considered a neutral location.

Phnom Penh agreed to the change and proposed that China and the US be invited to join the four-day meeting.