Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to an immediate ceasefire after several weeks of renewed fighting along their shared border, clashes that killed dozens of people and forced more than half a million from their homes.
According to a joint statement by the two governments, the ceasefire took effect at noon on Saturday and provides for a halt to “military objectives by either side”. The document formalizes a pause in hostilities and a commitment to refrain from further escalation.
The agreement allows both sides to maintain current troop levels in border areas, but Thailand and Cambodia pledged to refrain from redeployments or reinforcements and “not to undertake provocative actions that could increase tensions”, including air or territorial incursions.
In a separate provision, Thailand agreed to return 18 captured Cambodian servicemen, provided that the ceasefire holds for at least 72 hours.
The current clashes erupted after the collapse of a ceasefire signed in July under the mediation of US President Donald Trump. That agreement was intended to bring an end to a five-day conflict that left at least 48 people dead and displaced around 300,000 residents.
In October, Cambodia and Thailand signed a peace accord in Kuala Lumpur at a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, in Trump’s presence. But the arrangement unravelled last month, after Bangkok accused Phnom Penh of laying new landmines along the border—an allegation Cambodia denied.
The ceasefire became possible after talks between the two sides held on Wednesday. The following day, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and, according to the State Department, “reaffirmed President Trump’s commitment to peace and the need for full implementation of the Kuala Lumpur peace agreements”.
Tensions along the 800-kilometre border between Thailand and Cambodia have persisted for decades, driven by competing claims over a number of ancient temples and the surrounding territories.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, whose country holds the ASEAN chair until January 1, welcomed the agreement. He said the deal “sets out practical and positive measures” that create “a foundation for stability”, including verification of the ceasefire by regional observers and direct communication channels between the two countries’ defence ministries.
The foreign ministers of Thailand and Cambodia plan to continue consultations in China’s Yunnan province on Sunday and Monday, Cambodia’s foreign ministry said.