Thailand and Cambodia Exchange Fire Hours After President Announces Ceasefire Deal

The fragile peace between Thailand and Cambodia has deteriorated once again, with both nations exchanging accusations and artillery fire even as President Donald Trump announced a renewed ceasefire agreement between the two American allies.

Cambodia’s ministry of information reported that Thai forces, including fighter jets, continued striking targets across their disputed border hours after the President’s announcement. “Thai forces have not stopped the bombing yet and are still continuing the bombing,” the ministry stated on Saturday.

Thailand’s military responded with its own accusations, claiming Cambodia committed “repeated violations of international rules” by targeting civilian locations and deploying landmines along the contested frontier.

President Trump announced the ceasefire agreement following telephone conversations with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet. According to the President’s statement, both leaders agreed to cease all hostilities and return to the peace accord brokered in October with assistance from Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

However, neither the Thai nor Cambodian leaders confirmed this agreement in their subsequent public statements. When pressed about the President’s claim, Thailand’s foreign ministry directed inquiries back to Trump’s own statement. Prime Minister Anutin explicitly stated there was no ceasefire in effect.

In a Facebook statement, Cambodia’s Hun Manet acknowledged his conversation with President Trump and expressed continued commitment to peaceful resolution. Yet he also requested that the United States and Malaysia utilize their intelligence capabilities to “verify which side fired first” in the current hostilities. This suggestion indicates a fundamental disagreement over the facts on the ground.

Prime Minister Anutin confirmed that Thai forces had “retaliated” against Cambodian military positions and vowed to continue military operations “until we feel no more harm and threats to our land and people.”

The original ceasefire was established in July through Malaysian mediation, with President Trump applying significant pressure by threatening to revoke trade privileges unless both nations agreed to terms. That agreement was formalized in greater detail during an October regional meeting in Kuala Lumpur that the President attended.

Despite these diplomatic efforts, the peace has proven tenuous at best. The two nations have maintained what observers describe as a bitter propaganda war, and cross-border violence has persisted. At least twenty people have been killed in fighting this week alone.

The current crisis has deep historical roots. The border dispute stems from competing territorial claims dating to a 1907 map created during Cambodia’s period under French colonial administration. Thailand has long maintained this map contains inaccuracies that disadvantage Thai territorial interests.

A 1962 International Court of Justice ruling awarded sovereignty over key disputed areas to Cambodia, a decision that continues to rankle many Thais and complicates diplomatic resolution.

Thailand has deployed fighter aircraft to conduct airstrikes against what it characterizes as militia positions, while Cambodia insists these operations target civilian areas.

The situation presents a significant diplomatic challenge for the Trump administration as it seeks to maintain strong relationships with both Southeast Asian allies while promoting regional stability. The apparent disconnect between the President’s announcement and the reality on the ground underscores the complexity of mediating longstanding territorial disputes, even between nations that maintain generally positive relations with Washington.