The ‍top priority for Thailand and Cambodia is to agree to a ceasefire and stop fighting as ‌soon as possible resume dialogue, ​and resolve their border disputes peacefully, a special Chinese envoy to the region said.

For three weeks, Thailand and Cambodia have engaged in daily exchanges of rockets and artillery along their 817-kilometre (508-mile) land border, after a truce ‌first brokered by Malaysia as Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) chair and US President Donald Trump collapsed.

China has since joined the top diplomats of the 11-member bloc in urging both countries to exercise restraint and take steps to halt fighting.

China supports Asean’s mediation efforts and is willing to once again create conditions ⁠and provide a platform for dialogue and negotiations between the two sides, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Tuesday, citing its Special Envoy for Asian Affairs Deng Xijun.

Deng recently travelled to the two countries, meeting with their respective prime ministers and other senior government officials, as part of China’s shuttle diplomacy.

On Sunday, Deng met with senior Thai officials after he visited Phnom Penh.

During the meeting, Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Eksiri Pintaruchi, reiterated Thailand’s commitment to peace and its desire to see a genuine and sustainable ceasefire, based on the readiness and sincerity of the parties concerned.

She underscored that Thailand’s military operations were undertaken in self-defence, in accordance with international law and were strictly directed at military targets.

The Thai official also expressed concern over the use of heavy weapons by Cambodian forces against civilian targets in Thailand, as well as Cambodia’s refusal to allow Thai nationals to return to their home country, which runs counter to international law and humanitarian principles.

Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to hold a meeting on Wednesday of defence officials aimed ‌at ‍resuming the ceasefire, a move welcomed by Asean. Cambodia has asked Thailand to hold bilateral talks at the neutral venue of Kuala Lumpur, according to a letter seen by Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Tuesday.

China, which calls itself a “friend” and “close neighbour” to both Cambodia and Thailand, has been ‌seeking ​to facilitate mediation. It says it has been promoting a resolution to the conflict “in its own way”, without referring to the Trump ceasefire deal.

Trump claimed that the Thai-Cambodian conflict was one of the eight wars that he had stopped around the world, even as the fighting broke out again.

“In a region ⁠marked by complex historical sensitivities, few actors can claim to ​have the trust and willingness necessary to sustain mediation efforts as China, whose balanced and constructive approach provides a stable impetus for de-escalation of the tensions, as it did in helping ​broker reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia last year.