Cambodia and Thailand's top defence officials began a meeting in Malaysia on Thursday to finalise a permanent end to hostilities following a violent five-day border conflict that ended in an unconditional ceasefire late in July.

Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to allow regional bloc ASEAN to act as observers of the ceasefire between the two neighbours, Thailand’s Acting Minister of Defence Nattaphon Narkphanit said on Thursday.

Yet up until the recent outbreak that began in late May and ended with a cease-fire on July 28, the two countries were still able to manage bilateral military cooperation after the last of the Khmer Rouge insurgency in Cambodia was defeated in 1998.