By Tom Ozimek
President Donald Trump said on Dec. 12 that Thailand and Cambodia had agreed to halt fighting along their disputed border following his calls with the two countries’ leaders, raising hopes that a renewed bout of violence could be brought to an end.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said he had spoken with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, and that both sides had agreed to cease all shooting, effective later on Friday, and to return to a peace accord he previously helped broker.
“They have agreed to CEASE all shooting effective this evening, and go back to the original Peace Accord made with me, and them,” Trump wrote, crediting Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim with assisting in the earlier truce and current cease-fire efforts.
Trump added that both countries were ready for peace and continued trade with the United States.
Neither Thailand’s military nor Cambodian authorities immediately confirmed the cease-fire announcement.
Speaking at a news conference in Bangkok after his call with Trump, Thailand’s prime minister said the U.S. president had pressed for a return to the cease-fire framework agreed in Malaysia earlier this year.
“The talk went well,” Anutin said. “President Trump was concerned about the situation, and he wants everything to go back to where it was, which was when we signed the joint declaration in Kuala Lumpur.”
Anutin said he told Trump that Thailand had suffered losses in the fighting, including deaths, injuries, and damage to property, and had acted to defend its sovereignty and civilians. The prime minister added that he sought to counter any perception that Thailand had initiated the conflict, saying Cambodian forces had violated the cease-fire first.
“These are what I have explained to President Trump; otherwise, he may think that we are the initiator, the aggressor on Cambodia,” he said.
“That’s not true at all. We fought back, but in fighting back, we sometimes have to make it loud enough for them to hear us and know that they can’t do this to us. We’re not a country that can be trampled on.”
Anutin indicated that Thailand expected concrete steps from Cambodia before fully standing down, including troop withdrawals and the removal of landmines.
“Trump wants a cease-fire,” Anutin said. “I told him to tell our friends—don’t just say a cease-fire, but they must tell the world that Cambodia will cease fire, withdraw its troops, remove all landmines it has planted, they must show us first.”
There was no immediate response from Cambodian authorities to Trump’s cease-fire announcement.
Earlier on Friday, however, Hun shared a statement from his country’s Ministry of National Defense accusing Thailand of continued military attacks and urging an immediate halt to hostilities.
The ministry said Thailand must “immediately cease its indiscriminate armed attack and the use of fighter jets into Cambodian territory,” calling the actions a “grave violation of Cambodian sovereignty, territorial integrity, and international law.”
It added that Thailand must show “sincerity and goodwill” through concrete steps if it truly sought peace, urging Bangkok to honor the cease-fire agreement and joint declaration signed in Kuala Lumpur in October—but that had steadily eroded in the weeks that followed.
Fragile Truce Revived?
The renewed fighting erupted along more than a dozen points on the countries’ 508-mile border, including near the contested 11th-century Preah Vihear temple complex. The clashes involved artillery, rockets, drones, and airstrikes, killing at least 20 people and wounding more than 260, according to official tallies, while forcing nearly 180,000 civilians to flee their homes on both sides.
Thailand suspended the cease-fire in November after several Thai soldiers were maimed by what Bangkok said were newly laid Cambodian landmines, an allegation Phnom Penh rejected. In his post, Trump said the roadside bomb incident was an accident, while noting that Thailand had nevertheless retaliated forcefully.
“The roadside bomb that originally killed and wounded numerous Thai Soldiers was an accident, but Thailand nevertheless retaliated very strongly,” Trump wrote.
“Both Countries are ready for PEACE and continued Trade with the United States of America. It is my Honor to work with Anutin and Hun in resolving what could have evolved into a major War between two otherwise wonderful and prosperous Countries!”
Earlier this week, Trump vowed to intervene again, telling supporters at a rally in Pennsylvania that he would “make a phone call” to stop what he described as a reawakening of a long-running war.
Reuters contributed to this report.
