China’s Xi Jinping urges Thailand and Cambodia to settle long-running border dispute
President Xi Jinping has offered to play a ‘constructive role’ in reaching a solution, saying it would be in both sides’ long-term interests
Last year, the dispute escalated into the deadliest fighting between the neighbours in more than a decade, leaving more than 100 military personnel and civilians dead and hundreds more injured.
A ceasefire reached in December has largely held, but both sides continue to accuse each other of breaches.
He called for dialogue between the two sides and promised that China would play a “constructive role”, according to state news agency Xinhua.
He delivered a similar message in a separate meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, adding that China supported a negotiated solution.
The dispute over their competing territorial claims – largely centred on an ancient temple complex – goes back decades and has periodically erupted into violence.