Memorabilia of China's Tiangong space station development

Since the completion of its in-orbit construction, China's space station Tiangong has evolved into a national space laboratory and is currently the largest, long-term manned space research platform in the country's space exploration.

Below is a timeline highlighting the key milestones in the construction and operation of the space station:

April 2021: China launched the first section of the Tiangong space station - the Tianhe core module cabin.

May 2021: China launched the cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-2, the first cargo ship sent into space in the key-technology verification phase of the space station.

June 2021: China launched the Shenzhou-12 spacecraft, sending three astronauts into space, marking the first time Chinese people entered their own space station.

The Shenzhou-12 crew completed its first space station extravehicular activities during its three-month journey in orbit.

October 2021: China launched the Shenzhou-13 manned spaceship.

During its six-month journey in orbit, the Shenzhou-13 crew conducted two extravehicular activities.

December 2021: The first live space class from the space station was held.

February 2022: Shenzhou-13 crew members became the first Chinese to spend the country's most important festival -- the Spring Festival -- in outer space.

June 2022: China launched the Shenzhou-14 manned spaceship.

July 2022: China launched Wentian, the first lab module of the space station.

September 2022: China's space station lab module Wentian completed in-orbit transposition.

The third live class from the space station was conducted by the Shenzhou-14 crew, marking the first science lecture from the Wentian.

July 2022: China launched the space lab module Mengtian, taking the construction of the country's space station Tiangong into final stage.

November 2022: Mengtian completed in-orbit transposition, marking the formation of the space station's basic T-shape configuration, representing a key step toward the completion of China's space station.

November 2022: China launched the Shenzhou-15 manned spaceship.

November 2022: The crew of Shenzhou-14 and three astronauts from Shenzhou-15 met at the space station, a historic gathering that marked the beginning of China's long-term presence aboard the station.

December 2022: China completed the construction of its space station.

May 2023: China launched the Shenzhou-16 manned spaceship.

September 2023: The fourth live class from the space station was held, during which a spherical flame experiment was conducted for the first time.

During its mission, the Shenzhou-16 crew conducted the first-ever radiation biology exposure experiment outside the space station.

October 2023: China launched the Shenzhou-17 manned spaceship.

November 2023: China released the first high-definition images of the completed space station.

During its mission, the Shenzhou-17 crew carried out the first-ever in-orbit maintenance of extravehicular facilities.

April 2024: China launched the Shenzhou-18 manned spaceship.

During its mission, the Shenzhou-18 crew conducted China's first in-orbit aquatic ecological research project.

October 2024: China launched the Shenzhou-19 manned spaceship.

December 2024: The Shenzhou-19 crew completed their first extravehicular activities.

Memorabilia of China's Tiangong space station development

Thai and Cambodian leaders must find a way to resolve their differences through talks and not on the battlefield, according to a former Thai foreign minister, who also believes China could be in a unique position to serve as a mediator given its strong ties with both sides.

Border clashes between the two sides have reignited since Dec 7 -- less than two months after the two sides signed a joint peace declaration -- with both trading the blame for instigating the attacks.

The latest round of fighting has left at least 19 Thai soldiers and 19 Thai civilians dead, with over 270,000 people displaced, Thailand's defense ministry announced on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, on the same day, the Cambodian Defense Ministry said that 17 civilians have been killed and 77 injured as the Thai military forces have continued airstrikes and artillery shelling into Cambodian territory, with over 438,000 individuals fleeing their homes.

With the two sides continuing to point the finger of blame and trade accusations of attacks on civilians, peace talks appear to be a long way off.

Kasit Piromya, who formerly served as Thailand's Minister of Foreign Affairs, urged the two countries' leaders to put people first, set aside their pride and find a resolution.

"The people must be the priority, not the victory or losses or the battlefield. It's detrimental and destructive to all. It is easy to arouse the passion, but [the sign of] great leaders, great statesmen is to be able to overcome the nationalistic sentiment and come back to the sense and sensibility and to start to talk with one another," he said.

China has called for utmost restraint and every possible measure conducive to a ceasefire to ensure de-escalation of tensions as soon as possible, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman told a daily press briefing on Monday.

China supports direct dialogue and consultation between the two countries, as well as the efforts of ASEAN -- and Malaysia, in particular -- to promote peace talks, and the pursuit of a mutually acceptable solution within the ASEAN framework, according to the spokesman.

Piromya said he believes China could play a constructive role in a peace process between the two sides.

"China has been having, I think, more or less an excellent bilateral relationship respectively with Thailand and Cambodia. So China is in a very unique and great position to bring the two sides, Cambodia and Thailand, together," Piromya said.

Former official urges Thailand, Cambodia to make people priority, end border clashes