Thailand and Cambodia Agree New Ceasefire After Weeks of Deadly Border Clashes

World 10:58 PM - 2025-12-27

ambodia's Defence Minister Tea Seiha and Thailand's Defence Minister Natthaphon Narkphanit.

Thailand and Cambodia ended weeks of intense border fighting on Saturday after agreeing to a new ceasefire, the second in recent months, following the worst clashes between the two Southeast Asian neighbours in years.

The ceasefire appeared to be holding, according to Thai Defence Ministry spokesperson Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, who told Reuters around two hours after it came into effect at midday local time (05:00 GMT).
“So far, there have been no reports of gunfire,” he said.

Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence also reported no further clashes following what it said had been a Thai airstrike earlier on Saturday, prior to the ceasefire announcement.

The agreement was signed by Thai Defence Minister Natthaphon Narkphanit and his Cambodian counterpart, Tea Seiha, bringing an end to 20 days of fighting that left at least 101 people dead and displaced more than half a million civilians on both sides. The clashes included fighter jet sorties, rocket exchanges and heavy artillery fire.

ASEAN to Monitor Ceasefire

The latest fighting erupted earlier this month after the collapse of a previous ceasefire brokered with the assistance of US President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

In a joint statement, the two defence ministers said both sides had agreed to maintain current troop deployments without further movement, warning that any reinforcements would escalate tensions and undermine long-term efforts to resolve the conflict.

Cambodia’s Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn and his Thai counterpart, Sihasak Phuangketkeow, are scheduled to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in China’s Yunnan province on Sunday and Monday to discuss the border situation, according to officials from both countries.

Thailand and Cambodia have disputed sovereignty over several undemarcated sections of their 817-kilometre shared border for more than a century, with tensions periodically erupting into armed clashes.

The ceasefire will be monitored by an observer team from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), alongside direct coordination between the two countries. Natthaphon said there would also be direct communication at the policy level between the defence ministers and military chiefs of both sides.

Civilians to Return Home

Tensions peaked in July, when five days of fighting along parts of the border left at least 48 people dead and displaced around 300,000 before a US-brokered truce was reached. That ceasefire collapsed in early December, with both sides accusing each other of provocations.

The renewed truce followed a special meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers in Kuala Lumpur earlier this week, followed by three days of talks at a border checkpoint, where the two defence ministers met on Saturday.

Under the agreement, displaced civilians will be allowed to return to their homes, and both sides committed to refraining from the use of force against civilians. Thailand also agreed to return 18 Cambodian soldiers detained since the July clashes, provided the ceasefire holds for at least 72 hours.

However, the ceasefire does not affect ongoing border demarcation efforts, with disputed areas to be addressed through existing bilateral mechanisms.

“War and clashes do not make either country or their people happy,” Thailand’s Air Chief Marshal Prapas Sornjaidee said. “The Thai people and the Cambodian people are not in conflict with each other.”

Source: Reuters



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