Track II diplomacy: scholars forge path for Cambodian-Thai peace

Since the escalation of the Cambodia-Thailand border conflict in 2025, multiple mediation efforts have been made by the international community to build peace between the two countries.

On December 28 and 29, 2025, the foreign ministers and heads of military departments from China, Cambodia and Thailand held a meeting at Fuxian Lake in Yunnan, China, where they reached a five-point consensus on consolidating the ceasefire and restoring relations between Cambodia and Thailand.

This development highlighted China's strong support for and constructive role in promoting dialogue, rebuilding mutual trust and achieving lasting peace between Cambodia and Thailand. However, the implementation of the Fuxian consensus still faces multiple challenges, as mutual understanding and trust between Cambodia and Thailand remain weak.

In light of this, China Foreign Affairs University (CFAU) convened a China-Cambodia-Thailand Track II dialogue on Tuesday with the aim of fostering dialogue among think tanks from the three countries, as well as providing intellectual support for the implementation of the Fuxian consensus and the restoration of relations between Cambodia and Thailand.

Both Cambodia and Thailand engaged proactively with this event, nominating experts in conflict resolution, international relations, international law and military affairs to participate. These experts submitted policy papers and conducted thematic dialogues on topics including, but not limited to, consolidating the ceasefire, strengthening humanitarian assistance, rebuilding political mutual trust and restoring normal exchanges and relations between Cambodia and Thailand, maintaining regional peace and stability, and legal and boundary issues.

The Track II dialogue complemented official diplomacy in at least three ways. First, it promoted a common understanding of the difficulties inherent in restoring relations between Cambodia and Thailand. The participants shared the perspectives of their respective countries, disciplines and policy angles, recognizing that while phased de-escalation is underway on the Cambodian-Thai border, the stability of any ceasefire remains dependent on political restraint and institutional arrangements. We have not yet entered a state of self-sustaining peace.

The current dilemma in solving the Cambodia-Thailand conflict does not stem from a lack of willingness to engage in dialogue, but from the overlapping of multiple factors, which include longstanding territorial disputes and differing legal perceptions, the fragility of ceasefire mechanisms and the amplifying effect of sporadic incidental exchanges of fire, structural interference in the peace process due to domestic political cycles, continuous erosion of mediation space by nationalism and disinformation, limited effectiveness of regional mechanisms, long-term societal trauma and trust deficits, and the complexity of border governance structures where informal arrangements interweave with formal institutions.

Second, the Track II dialogue explored new ideas ranging from crisis management to prescriptions for lasting peace, and proposed innovative solutions for institutionalizing the ceasefire mechanism, strengthening restraint in military actions and public rhetoric, and sustaining cooperation in low-political-sensitivity areas such as livelihoods, humanitarian affairs, border governance and rebuilding mutual trust.

Cambodian and Thai experts made specific recommendations for the gradual normalization of bilateral relations, restoring communication and exchange at multiple levels, including the use of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation mechanism and other multilateral and bilateral mechanisms, and taking more robust measures to combat cross-border criminality, such as telecommunication and online scams, in order to safeguard the lives, property and security of people across the region.

Cambodian and Thai scholars agreed that China has consistently displayed a commitment to promoting dialogue and reconciliation among its neighbors and has played a constructive role in building regional peace and stability. They further agreed that the Fuxian meeting laid a significant political foundation for regional stability and the improvement of Cambodia-Thailand relations. They suggested that China offer substantive assistance to consolidating the ceasefire, provide humanitarian support, including helping displaced people in the border regions of both countries to return to daily livelihood, and continue to promote the restoration of relations between Cambodia and Thailand.

Third, the Track II dialogue created favorable conditions for restoring relations between Cambodia and Thailand through an unofficial channel for dialogue. As initiator and sustainer of dialogue, this event helped establish and maintain communication channels between the academia of Cambodia and Thailand when the situation between the two countries is highly tense.

It initiated a Track II process of exchanging perceptions, building trust and sustaining dialogue between Cambodia and Thailand, the essence of which is to clear obstacles, create favorable conditions, and provide support for formal official negotiations. Experts from both countries held talks in a non-official capacity, enabling more candid and exploratory exchanges. This Track II dialogue and the channel it built will serve as a vital tool with irreplaceable value in resolving the complex conflicts between Cambodia and Thailand.

Cambodian and Thai scholars appreciated the efforts of CFAU in organizing the Track II dialogue. They stressed that, during this critical period, dialogue among scholars holds unique value; it enhances mutual understanding, explores pragmatic solutions, and creates a favorable atmosphere and sustained momentum for official processes.

They considered this event a vivid demonstration of China's responsible role as a major country, as well as a reflection of the proactive engagement of the Chinese academic community in the building of a shared future among neighboring countries.

They proposed convening such Track II dialogue regularly to facilitate the implementation of the Fuxian consensus and to contribute further Track II insights to forging pathways for a lasting Cambodia-Thailand peace.

Yang Yue is a professor of Institute of Asian Studies, China Foreign Affairs University. Han Zhili is a research professor of Institute of Asian Studies, China Foreign Affairs University. 

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