Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to host ASEAN observers along their shared frontier to uphold the ceasefire that followed a deadly five-day border conflict in late July. The turmoil, characterized artillery fire and airstrikes, claimed at least 43 lives and displaced over 300,000 people—marking the most intense clash between the neighbours in more than a decade.Reuters

The agreement emerged from a four-day high-level defense meeting in Kuala Lumpur, where U.S. and Chinese representatives also took part. Under the terms, ASEAN teams, overseen Malaysia, will be deployed separately within each country’s territory rather than at the border line itself.

Officials from both nations plan further negotiations in the coming weeks to solidify peace. The border dispute dates back to colonial-era determinations France over their 817 km boundary, a source of recurrent friction.