Thailand and Cambodia ended weeks of intense border clashes on Saturday after agreeing to a second ceasefire in recent months, following the most serious fighting between the two Southeast Asian neighbors in years.
A spokesperson for Thailand’s Ministry of Defense, Surasant Kongsiri, confirmed to Reuters that the ceasefire was being respected about two hours after it took effect at noon.
“So far, there have been no reports of gunfire,” Kongsiri said.
Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defense also reported no new clashes, following what it described as a Thai airstrike earlier on Saturday, prior to the ceasefire announcement.
Heavy Toll from 20 Days of Fighting
The agreement, signed by Thai Defense Minister Nattaphon Narkphanit and his Cambodian counterpart Tea Seiha, brought an end to 20 days of hostilities that resulted in:
- At least 101 fatalities
- More than 500,000 people displaced on both sides of the border
- Use of fighter jets, rocket fire, and artillery barrages
The clashes reignited earlier this month after the collapse of a previous ceasefire that had been mediated by U.S. President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Regional and International Mediation
Cambodia’s Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn and Thailand’s Sihasak Phuangketkeow are scheduled to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in China’s Yunnan province on Sunday and Monday to discuss the border situation, according to official statements.
The renewed ceasefire will be monitored by observers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), alongside direct coordination mechanisms between the two countries, Thai officials said.
A Long-Standing Border Dispute
Thailand and Cambodia have disputed sovereignty over undemarcated sections of their 817-kilometer land border for more than a century, a disagreement that has periodically erupted into violence.
Tensions peaked in July when five days of clashes killed at least 48 people and displaced around 300,000 civilians, prompting U.S. intervention to broker a ceasefire. That truce collapsed in early December, with both sides accusing each other of provocations as fighting spread from forested areas near Laos to coastal provinces along the Gulf of Thailand.
Humanitarian Measures and Prisoner Release
Following an emergency ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Kuala Lumpur and three days of border talks, both sides agreed to:
- Allow displaced civilians to return home
- Refrain from using force against civilians
- Release 18 Cambodian soldiers currently detained by Thailand, provided the ceasefire holds for 72 hours
However, the agreement does not affect ongoing border demarcation activities, leaving the resolution of disputed territories to existing bilateral mechanisms.
