Thailand has rejected claims that it has entered into a ceasefire with Cambodia, contradicting an announcement by former US president Donald Trump that the two sides had agreed to halt hostilities.
Caretaker prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Saturday that no ceasefire agreement existed and that Thai forces would continue military operations.
His comments came as fighting along the Thai-Cambodian border intensified and Cambodia moved to suspend all border crossings with Thailand.
Both militaries exchanged fire throughout the day. Thai forces conducted airstrikes, including the use of fighter jets, while Cambodian units launched rocket attacks across the frontier.
Thailand has rejected claims that it has entered into a ceasefire with Cambodia, contradicting an announcement by former US president Donald Trump that the two sides had agreed to halt hostilities.
Caretaker prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Saturday that no ceasefire agreement existed and that Thai forces would continue military operations.
His comments came as fighting along the Thai-Cambodian border intensified and Cambodia moved to suspend all border crossings with Thailand.
Both militaries exchanged fire throughout the day. Thai forces conducted airstrikes, including the use of fighter jets, while Cambodian units launched rocket attacks across the frontier.
Thailand’s army said at least two civilians were seriously injured by Cambodian fire while attempting to reach a bunker.
The renewed fighting follows a clash on 7 December that wounded two Thai soldiers. Thai authorities say that incident breached an earlier ceasefire reached in July after diplomatic pressure led by Trump.
Since the latest escalation began, more than two dozen people have reportedly been killed, and over half a million civilians displaced on both sides of the border.
Thailand’s military reported that 15 of its soldiers had been killed and estimated Cambodian military fatalities at 165. Cambodia has not released figures for military losses but said at least 11 civilians had died and more than six dozen had been wounded.
Trump announced on Friday that Thailand and Cambodia had agreed to reinstate the July ceasefire following calls with Anutin and Cambodian prime minister Hun Manet. In a post on his Truth Social platform, he wrote:
“They have agreed to CEASE all shooting effective this evening, and go back to the original Peace Accord made with me, and them, with the help of the Great Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim,”
However, neither government publicly confirmed the claim. Thailand’s foreign minister, Sihasak Phuangketkeow, said Trump’s statement did not reflect “an accurate understanding of the situation”.
“We regret and we’re disappointed that some of the points made by President Trump have bearing upon the feeling of the Thai people, Thailand, because we consider ourselves – we are proud, in fact – to be the oldest treaty ally of the United States in the region,” he said.
Cambodian officials did not directly address Trump’s ceasefire announcement. In a statement posted on Facebook on Saturday, Manet referred to his call with Trump but made no mention of a ceasefire.
He reiterated Cambodia’s position that it was seeking a peaceful resolution consistent with an earlier agreement signed in Kuala Lumpur in October.
Manet also said Cambodia had urged the United States and Malaysia to apply their intelligence capabilities to “verify which side fired first” in the latest round of fighting.
Anutin said Thai forces were responding to Cambodian military actions and would continue operations as long as threats remained.
“Thailand will continue to perform military actions until we feel no more harm and threats to our land and people,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
The July ceasefire had been brokered by Malaysia and followed warnings from Trump that trade privileges could be withdrawn if the conflict continued. The agreement was later expanded upon during a regional meeting in Malaysia in October, which Trump attended.
On Saturday, Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim again called on both sides to halt hostilities. Cambodia endorsed a proposal that included monitoring by Malaysia and the United States. Anutin, however, said Thailand had not entered negotiations on such a plan.
Despite earlier agreements, tensions persisted through ongoing information campaigns and sporadic border violence.
The dispute between Thailand and Cambodia is rooted in long-standing territorial disagreements linked to a 1907 map produced during French colonial rule in Cambodia, which Thailand disputes.
Friction intensified following a 1962 ruling by the international court of justice awarding sovereignty over the area surrounding the Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia.
Thailand has conducted airstrikes it says were aimed at military targets. Cambodia has deployed BM-21 rocket launchers with an effective range of 30 to 40 kilometres.
Thai authorities say the rockets are imprecise and that most landed in areas that had already been evacuated.
Data compiled by public broadcaster ThaiPBS indicates that at least six Thai soldiers were killed by rocket shrapnel. Thailand’s north-eastern regional military command reported that BM-21 fire damaged homes and residential areas near the border.
The Thai army also said it destroyed a tall crane positioned on a hilltop near the Preah Vihear temple, alleging it was equipped with electronic and optical devices used for military command and control.
Separately, a Thai warship shelled Cambodia’s south-western province of Koh Kong on Saturday.
THE THIRD FORCE
Sourced From: The Guardian, Various Sources
