A Thai ranger, left, watches as his comrades move away the body of a Cambodian soldier at a battlefield in Surin province, northeastern Thailand. -- PHOTO: AP

KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA on Monday blamed Thailand for the renewed clashes on the Thai-Cambodia border, saying it had reneged on a deal to send observers to the disputed region.

The dispute overshadowed a weekend summit of the 10-member Southeast Asian bloc, where Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen launched into a tirade against Thailand over the conflict that has left 18 dead since last month.

Thailand and Cambodia agreed in February to accept Indonesian military observers on the border but the initiative remains on ice due to Thai demands that Cambodia first pull troops out of the temple.

'An agreement had been agreed upon, (Thailand) should adhere to it, I wouldn't want to say lacking in faith... (but) they did not adhere to the agreement,' Malaysian deputy foreign minister Richard Riot Jaem told reporters.

'Thailand refused and that's why the skirmish came again,' said Riot, who attended the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) meeting where it was agreed 30 observers would be stationed on either side of the border.

'All the 10 countries, I stress, including Thailand and Cambodia, agreed to the agreement but sad to say, the agreement was brought back to the respective two countries. Cambodia accepted it, Thailand did not accept,' he said. -- AFP