Hun Sen is a wily survivor of Cambodian politics and the wider tumult across Southeast Asia over the last half-a-century. Born to rice farmers in a province heavily bombed during the secret U.S. war in Cambodia and Laos, he became a soldier for the Khmer Rouge, whose murderous regime from 1975 to 1979 killed about a quarter of the population.

Thai and Cambodian leaders are meeting in Malaysia in an urgent effort to resolve deadly border clashes that entered a fifth day despite mounting international calls for peace.

A ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia appeared to largely be holding on Tuesday as military commanders from both countries met for negotiations, even as the Thai army accused Cambodian troops of violating the truce overnight.