China urges Cambodia, Thailand to exercise calm and restraint, come to ceasefire

China on Thursday called on Cambodia and Thailand to remain calm, exercise restraint, and achieve a ceasefire as soon as possible, while rejecting speculation arising from the reported use of Chinese weapons.

Jiang Bin, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks in response to a media query, saying that China has long carried out defense cooperation with both Cambodia and Thailand, including military trade. He stressed that such cooperation is not targeted at any third party, fully complies with international law and international practices, and is unrelated to the border conflict.

He said China hopes relevant parties will refrain from subjective speculation and malicious hype.

As a friendly neighbor to both Cambodia and Thailand, China is closely following the developments of the border conflict and is deeply saddened by the casualties suffered by the people of the two countries, Jiang noted.

He expressed the hope that both sides will act in the fundamental interests of border peace and stability and the well-being of their people, maintain the utmost calm and restraint, achieve a ceasefire at an early date, and return to resolving their differences through dialogue and consultation.

China will continue working to promote peace talks and will play a constructive role in facilitating a ceasefire and in rebuilding peace between Cambodia and Thailand, Jiang said.