Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to begin a three-phase withdrawal of heavy weaponry along their border, with the first phase scheduled to begin at midnight on Nov 1. The entire operation is scheduled to take until the end of January.
The decision was made by military commanders attending a meeting of the Regional Border Committee (RBC) on Wednesday at the Chong Chom permanent border checkpoint in Surin province, according to a border source.
The meeting was held to follow up on resolutions from a special session of the General Border Committee (GBC), chaired by the two countries’ defence ministers and held in Kuala Lumpur. It called for a coordinated action plan to reduce military tensions and reposition heavy weapons along the border.
The prime ministers of Thailand and Cambodia were also in the Malaysian capital on the weekend to sign a declaration expressing their agreement to work toward normalising relations that remain strained after July’s armed clashes. (Story continues below)
Under the agreement reached on Wednesday by the RBC, the withdrawal will be carried out in three phases:
Phase 1 (Type A weapons) will begin at midnight on Nov 1 and involve the repositioning of multiple rocket launchers.
Phase 2 (Type B weapons) will start at midnight on Nov 22 and last three weeks. It covers all types of artillery, including both towed and self-propelled guns of 155mm calibre and below.
Phase 3 (Type C weapons) is scheduled to begin at midnight on Dec 13. It includes the repositioning of armoured vehicles and tanks and will last for six weeks.
The meeting on Wednesday was co-chaired by Maj Gen Kampanart Wapansu, chief-of-staff of the Second Army and secretary of the Thai RBC, and Brig Gen Nith Narong, deputy chief-of-staff of Cambodia’s Military Region 4 and secretary of the Cambodian RBC.
The commanders of the Thai Second Army and Cambodian Military Region 4 will sign the minutes of the meeting at a ceremony at the Chong Chom border crossing at 2pm on Friday.
A follow-up meeting scheduled for Nov 15 will assess the implementation of Phase 1, address any operational challenges and prepare for Phases 2 and 3.