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The Straits Times (6 August 2025)

Hariz Baharudin

Asean played a pivotal role in helping to halt the July border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, but its hands were tied to a large extent, given that the clash’s root causes were embedded in domestic dynamics on both sides.

What the grouping could do was to try to keep the fighting under control, bring the temperature down and to give space for both sides to talk, said its secretary-general Kao Kim Hourn in an exclusive interview with The Straits Times on Aug 5.

“I think what (Asean) has done constructively is to keep it under control and then try to de-escalate. And then after that, they go back to negotiate,” he said, referring to the two South-east Asian neighbours.

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