Mohamad said Cambodian deputy prime minister and foreign minister Prak Sokhonn had expressed hope that Malaysia would continue leading the observers even after its tenure as Asean chair ends.

“While the matter is fundamentally a bilateral arrangement between Cambodia and Thailand, Malaysia is prepared to accommodate Cambodia’s request,” he said, according to Bernama.

With the terms of reference for the Asean observer team finalised, Mohamad said the armed forces chiefs of Cambodia and Thailand will meet tomorrow to discuss a comprehensive plan to withdraw heavy arms at the border and return it to its “pre-conflict state”.

He said the Cambodian foreign minister hoped the Asean observer team could be deployed quickly to monitor the ceasefire arrangement.

In July, Thailand and Cambodia engaged in the worst fighting between the two countries in more than a decade. The two nations have a long history of diplomatic rows over a 817km stretch of their shared border.

Tensions had been simmering since May 28 after a Cambodian soldier was killed in a clash near the disputed Preah Vihear border area, about 360km from Bangkok.

A ceasefire was reached in late July.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Thailand and Cambodia were expected to sign a peace agreement to resolve their long-standing border dispute in the next two days, witnessed by himself and also US president Donald Trump.