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Thailand, Cambodia agree to new ceasefire weeks of deadly fighting The worst escalation of violence in more than a decade was halted along the disputed border.
The agreement was signed on Saturday by the defense ministers of the two countries following an ongoing conflict over territorial claims. killed dozens of peopleforced evacuations and heightened regional concerns about instability in Southeast Asia.
The neighbors agreed to immediately cease fighting, freeze further military operations and ban violations of each other’s airspace for military purposes.
The ceasefire came into effect at noon local time. Two hours later, Thailand’s defense ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Surasan Khonsiri told Reuters the situation was still ongoing. “So far, there have been no reports of shootings,” he said.
Cambodia’s defense ministry said only Thailand had carried out airstrikes during the fighting, with the latest hitting multiple locations across Cambodia.
Cambodia’s top diplomat Prak Sokhonn and Thai diplomat Sihasak will meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday and Monday to discuss the situation, according to statements from Cambodia’s foreign ministry and Thai officials.
A key provision of the new agreement requires Thailand to return 18 Cambodian soldiers captured in the conflict earlier this year once the truce ends for 72 hours. Their release is a core demand in Phnom Penh.
Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Seiha and Thai Defense Minister Nattaphon Narkphanit signed the ceasefire agreement at a border checkpoint after three days of talks between military officials within the framework of the long-standing General Border Council.
It reiterated commitments made in a ceasefire reached in July after five days of fighting, as well as 16 de-escalation measures agreed upon. The earlier truce was brokered by Malaysia and brokered under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened to suspend trade privileges unless both sides agreed to cease hostilities.
Despite these efforts, relations deteriorated in subsequent months, with a war of words erupting between the two governments and sporadic border incidents escalating into fierce fighting in early December.
Since December 7, Thailand claims that 26 soldiers and one civilian have been killed in fighting. Bangkok also reported 44 more civilian deaths due to the wider impact of the conflict.
Cambodia has not released military casualty figures, but said at least 30 civilians were killed and 90 injured. Hundreds of thousands of residents in border areas between the two sides have been evacuated.
Each side blamed the other for sparking the fighting and said they acted in self-defence.
The truce also requires neighboring countries to comply with international conventions banning landmines, an issue that has heightened tensions.
Thai soldiers have been injured in at least nine explosions along the Thai border this year, which Bangkok claims were caused by newly laid Cambodian landmines. Cambodia denies this, saying the equipment dates back to the civil war that ended in the late 1990s.
Another provision of the deal calls on both countries to refrain from spreading false information and resume stalled efforts to formally demarcate the border. The agreement also includes cooperation in the fight against transnational crime, primarily aimed at combating organized online fraud networks that defraud victims around the world of billions of dollars, with Cambodia considered a major center of such activity.