AKP Phnom Penh, September 10, 2025 --  

An Interim Observer Team (IOT), led by Brigadier General Dato’ Pahlawan Asri bin Shukor, Director of Training at the Royal Malaysian Army HQ and Head of Mission (HOM) of the IOT, along with representatives from Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, arrived at Techo International Airport this afternoon.

The team was warmly welcomed upon arrival by Lieutenant General Phat Vibol Sopheak, Deputy Director General of the General Department of Politics and Foreign Affairs and Director of the International Relations Department at the Ministry of National Defence, and Malaysian Military Attaché Colonel Nazlee Bin Abdul Rahim.
 
“The Ministry of National Defence of the Kingdom of Cambodia warmly welcomes the presence of the Observer Team (IOT) to the Kingdom of Cambodia,” read the ministry’s news release. “This represents the active participation of ASEAN member states, particularly Malaysia, in its role as Chair, in supporting a peaceful resolution between the two nations.” 

It reflects our shared commitment to ensuring the ceasefire is successful and enduring, with the aim of restoring peace, stability, cooperation, and development for the peoples of Cambodia and Thailand, it added.

This initiative follows the outcomes of the Special Meeting held on July 28, 2025 in Malaysia, and the Extraordinary Meeting of the Cambodia–Thailand General Border Committee (Extraordinary GBC Meeting) convened on Aug. 7, 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which resulted in the agreement of the Ceasefire.

By Heng Panha