[Today’s Prayer] Thailand and Cambodia, embroiled in fighting, began ceasefire talks, holding four-day meetings in Malaysia.

Thailand and Cambodia held their first meeting of their Border Committee in Malaysia after agreeing to a ceasefire. They plan to develop a detailed ceasefire plan over the next four days.

According to Reuters on the 5th, the Joint Border Committee (JBC), a consultative body of the two governments, began preliminary meetings in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur the previous day. The two countries agreed to the ceasefire after five days of border fighting late last month, which left over 30 people dead and 260,000 people displaced.

The planned four-day meeting was originally scheduled to be held in Cambodia, but it has reportedly been moved to Malaysia, which is this year's chair of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and helped mediate the ceasefire.

This meeting is intended to identify and address differences in specific measures to prevent recurrence of border conflicts. While most of the 800-kilometer border is mutually recognized, the two countries have engaged in decades-long territorial disputes over smaller swathes of land.

At the meeting, the Cambodian Ministry of Defense accused Thailand of violating the ceasefire agreement by using excavators and installing barbed wire in the disputed border area. The Thai military refuted reports that Cambodia had increased its troop presence and repaired fortifications in key areas.

Thai Deputy Defense Minister Nattaphong Nakpanith and Cambodian Defense Minister Thea Sey will attend, with observers from Malaysia, the United States, and China expected to attend.

Thailand and Cambodia have been feuding neighbors for centuries, with both countries having forged vast empires. The seeds of armed conflict were sown in 1962 when the International Court of Justice, the UN's highest court, ruled that the Preah Viaher Temple land belonged to Cambodia. This ruling also fueled territorial disputes over numerous smaller swathes of land.

Source: Nate News

But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you (Psalm 5:11)

Lord, we hear that Thailand and Cambodia are holding a four-day meeting in Malaysia to draw up a concrete ceasefire plan following the ceasefire.

Among the people of Thailand and Cambodia who have lost family and friends and been forced to leave their homes due to the recent border conflict, may You come and comfort them.

Though the international community seeks to resolve the issue through political means, may the global church take the lead in proclaiming that the only way to fully heal the pain and suffering of the souls of Thailand and Cambodia is through the love of Jesus.

May the Thai and Cambodian churches preach the gospel so that Thailand and Cambodia may be restored through the gospel, and may the churches first forgive one another through Jesus' love and set an example of serving one another through the gospel.

May Thailand and Cambodia flee to the Lord and enjoy His protection. May Thailand and Cambodia rejoice in the name of Jesus Christ forever and find joy in Jesus.

May Thailand and Cambodia rise up as a people who joyfully and gladly testify to the gospel, so that ASEAN and the nations may dwell under the Lord’s protection!

May a 1 million army arise in ASEAN through Thailand and Cambodia!