This week, Thailand to terminate MOU for maritime cooperation with Cambodia. Pakistan-Afghanistan ceasefire remains fragile. Buddhist monks finish ‘walk for peace’ across Sri Lanka.
Thailand to Terminate MOU for Maritime Cooperation with Cambodia
Thailand this week told Cambodia at the 25th ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting in Brunei that it would withdraw from the 2001 Memorandum of Understanding on overlapping maritime claims. Thailand now plans to follow the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) for future discussions.
Thai foreign minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said, “Despite being in effect for over 20 years, MOU 44 has failed to produce tangible progress.”
Phuangketkeow brought up past examples of Thailands’s maritime negotiations with Malaysia which led successful agreements to under UNCLOS principles without the need for a similar MOU.
On July 28, 2025, Thailand and Cambodia reached a ceasefire after days of escalation in conflict beginning on July 24. The escalation began a day after a landmine explosion injured five Thai soldiers, including one who lost his leg. However, the series of events that led to the escalation were disputed between the two countries, with both sides blaming the other. The ongoing conflict is over disputed land surrounding a temple in Cambodia.
At the recent ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting, both countries agreed to continue the ceasefire
Pakistan-Afghanistan Ceasefire Remains Fragile
The ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan remains fragile amidst ongoing violence. On April 27, Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities said that Pakistani mortars and missiles hit a university and residential neighborhoods in the eastern province of Kunar, killing at least seven people and injuring more than 80.
Meanwhile, Pakistani officials said at least three civilians were wounded by gunfire in South Waziristan. Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting denied that Pakistan had struck the university in Afghanistan. The dispute over the attacks on the university have triggered concerns about the ceasefire collapsing.
This development comes after both countries attended peace talks in China following cross-border fighting after Pakistan launched airstrikes on Pakistan in February. Pakistan accuses the Taliban in Afghanistan of harboring militants who attack Pakistan. The UN’s office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs in Afghanistan posted on X on April 7 that the conflict had displaced 94,000 people.
Buddhist Monks Finish ‘Walk for Peace’ Across Sri Lanka
A group of Buddhist monks concluded their ‘walk for peace’ on April 28 at Independence Square in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The monks were received by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
Muslim and Hindu faith leaders joined the monks, and Dissanayake stressed the responsibility of religious leaders to protect the dignity and essence of religious institutions, UCA News reported.
Venerable Pannakara Thera, the monk who led the walk, said that peace is influenced by how people treat each other. Thera added that spiritual and cultural values should be preserved to maintain nations’ cultural heritage, and that nations should avoid harming all sentient beings.
Back in February, the same group of monks completed another peace walk across the United States. Mallory McDuff for The Guardian observed that the monks’ journey was “a slow-moving meditation meant to embody peace, rather than argue for it.”
Keywords: Thailand, Cambodia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, peace, conflict, conflict resolution, ceasefire, walk, Colombo, Independence Square
Tara Abhasakun
Tara Abhasakun is Peace News Network (PNN)'s managing editor. She is journalist based in Christchurch, New Zealand, and formerly in Bangkok, Thailand. She has reported on a range of human rights issues involving youth protests in Thailand, as well as arts and culture. Tara's work has appeared in several outlets, including Al Jazeera and South China Morning Post.
