MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is continuously monitoring the situation in Cambodia and Thailand, after border clash between the two countries escalated; killing at least two civilians, according to reports.
In a statement released on Thursday, DFA said that it is “ready to extend all possible assistance to Filipinos living in these two countries, if necessary.”
“We are hopeful our two fellow ASEAN member states will resolve this issue in accordance with international law and the peaceful settlement of disputes,” the DFA statement read.
“We urge both parties to extend due consideration and care to innocent civilians who may be affected by the ongoing conflict,” DFA said.
The DFA also mentioned that the Philippines does not take any position on this dispute but underscores the importance of maintaining open lines of communication and ensuring the de-escalation of the situation.
Meanwhile, the DFA assured the public that to date, no Filipino nationals have been reported affected by the conflict.
Thai F-16 fighter jet deployed, bombed Cambodian targets
A Thai F-16 fighter jet bombed targets in Cambodia on Thursday, both sides said, as weeks of tension over a border dispute escalated into clashes that have killed at least two civilians.
Of the six F-16 fighter jets that Thailand readied to deploy along the disputed border, one of the aircraft fired into Cambodia and destroyed a military target, the Thai army said. Both countries accused each other of starting the clash early on Thursday.
"We have used air power against military targets as planned," Thai army deputy spokesperson Richa Suksuwanon told reporters. Thailand also closed its border with Cambodia.
Cambodia's defence ministry said the jets dropped two bombs on a road, and that it "strongly condemns the reckless and brutal military aggression of the Kingdom of Thailand against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cambodia".
LANDMINES
The clashes began early on Thursday near the disputed Ta Moan Thom temple along the eastern border between Cambodia and Thailand, around 360 km from the Thai capital, Bangkok.
"Artillery shell fell on people's homes," Sutthirot Charoenthanasak, district chief of Kabcheing in Surin province, describing the firing by the Cambodian side.
"Two people have died," he said, adding that district authorities had evacuated 40,000 civilians from 86 villages near the border to safer locations.
Thailand's military said Cambodia deployed a surveillance drone before sending troops with heavy weapons to an area near the temple.
Cambodian troops opened fire, and two Thai soldiers were wounded, a Thai army spokesperson said, adding that Cambodia had used multiple weapons, including rocket launchers.
A spokesperson for Cambodia's defence ministry, however, said there had been an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops and Cambodian forces had responded in self-defence.
Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said the situation was delicate.
"We have to be careful," he told reporters. "We will follow international law."
An attempt by Thai premier Paetongtarn Shinawatra to resolve the recent tensions via a call with Cambodia's influential former Prime Minister Hun Sen, the contents of which were leaked, kicked off a political storm in Thailand, leading to her suspension by a court.
Hun Sen said in a Facebook post that two Cambodian provinces had come under shelling from the Thai military.
Thailand this week accused Cambodia of placing landmines in a disputed area that injured three soldiers. Phnom Penh denied the claim and said the soldiers had veered off agreed routes and triggered a mine left behind from decades of war.
Cambodia has many landmines left over from its civil war decades ago, numbering in the millions according to de-mining groups.
But Thailand maintains that landmines have been placed at the border area recently, which Cambodia has described as baseless allegations.
(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Chayut Setboonsarng; Writing by Devjyot Ghoshal and Saad Sayeed; Editing by Martin Petty and Raju Gopalakrishnan / Reuters)
