Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to a fresh ceasefire aimed at ending nearly three weeks of intense fighting along their disputed border, marking the most serious confrontation between the neighbors in years.
The truce, signed on Saturday by Thai Defence Minister Natthaphon Nakrphanit and Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Seiha, came into force at noon local time. Under the agreement, both sides committed to freezing troop positions and avoiding any reinforcements, warning that further military build-up could undermine long-term peace efforts.
In a joint statement released by Cambodia’s Defence Ministry, the two governments said the ceasefire would halt air sorties, rocket exchanges and artillery fire that had plagued the frontier in recent weeks. The fighting, which erupted again in early December, has killed at least 101 people and forced more than 500,000 civilians to flee border communities on both sides.
The renewed clashes followed the collapse of an earlier truce brokered earlier this year with support from U.S. President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. That agreement briefly paused violence after deadly skirmishes in July but failed to hold as accusations and counter-accusations mounted.
Monitoring of the latest ceasefire will be carried out by observers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, alongside direct military and political coordination between Bangkok and Phnom Penh. Officials also agreed to facilitate the return of displaced civilians and pledged that neither side would target non-combatants.
As part of confidence-building measures, Thailand said it would release 18 Cambodian soldiers captured during earlier clashes, provided the ceasefire remains intact for at least 72 hours. However, both governments stressed that the deal does not affect ongoing border demarcation talks, leaving long-standing territorial disputes to existing bilateral mechanisms.
Thailand and Cambodia have disputed sections of their 817-kilometre land border for more than a century, with tensions periodically flaring into violence. Despite the latest truce, officials acknowledged that lasting peace will depend on sustained dialogue beyond the battlefield.
