PHNOM PENH — Cambodia’s National Defence Ministry announced on Sunday that an interim Asean Defence Attache Observer Team, led by Malaysia, will monitor the implementation of the ceasefire in Oddar Meanchey and Preah Vihear provinces.

The team consists of military attaches from seven member states – Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam – will conduct field observations on August 3.

Meanwhile, Cambodian top negotiators will head to Kuala Lumpur for the General Border Committee (GBC) negotiations, where the release of 18 soldiers held captive by the Thai army is likely to top their agenda.

The soldiers are being held following a border conflict between the countries that erupted on July 24.

The bilateral talks, scheduled from August 4 to 7, are part of a ceasefire agreement reached between Cambodia and Thailand on July 28, which led to temporary de-escalation and pushed back soldiers to their barracks.