Thailand-Cambodia truce mostly holds after shaky start in wake of fighting
The two neighbours agreed to an 'immediate and unconditional' ceasefire, effective from midnight, at a meeting in Malaysia on Monday after nearly a week of hostilities that saw at least 38 mostly civilian deaths and displaced nearly 300,000 more. But the ceasefire was quickly tested when Thailand's army accused Cambodia of launching attacks in multiple areas early Tuesday – claims Cambodia rejected.
The ceasefire comes days before the US is expected to announce new trade tariff decisions. Cambodia and Thailand are two of the nations likely to be hit hardest as a result of Trump's punitive trade measures, with a 36% tariff on goods from both countries taking effect this coming Friday.
Trump had warned that the US might not proceed with trade deals with either country if hostilities continued, giving both sides a face-saving justification for halting the clashes.
Some sporadic fire had been anticipated in the hours immediately after the ceasefire took effect. A Thai government statement late Tuesday said a new clash had broken out at one of the locations where there had previously been heavy fighting. The Thai army reported exchanges of gunfire into Wednesday morning but said there was no use of heavy artillery.
Jirayu Houngsub, a spokesperson for the office of Thailand's prime minister, said in a text message to journalists that the Thai military 'is currently responding and controlling the situation' at Phu Makhuea, a mountain in a disputed area next to Thailand's Sisaket province.
Thailand's army had said the morning fighting stopped after military commanders along the border from both sides met. They agreed to halt troop movements, avoid escalation and establish coordination teams before a joint border committee meeting in Cambodia on August 4, army spokesman Major-General Winthai Suvaree said.
Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Seiha said he spoke to his Thai counterpart about 'incidents' that occurred during the implementation of the ceasefire, but stressed that Cambodia's army abided by the truce.
'Here is not as easy to live as my home'
There were signs of calm along the border, with some of the tens of thousands of people displaced by the fighting returning to their homes.
But residents staying in makeshift refugee shelters on Cambodia's northwestern border were still waiting to head home.
'If they (the government) say that my village is safe to return then I would go back home and reunite with my family because here is not as easy to live as my home,' Meun Saray, a 45-year-old woman living in a tarpaulin shelter near the border town of Samraong, capital of Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey province, told the Reuters news agency.
The town is directly south of the O Smach border crossing, where shelling and gunfire were heard on Monday afternoon, said Meach Sovannara, head of the opposition New Generation Party, adding that some local villagers were injured after their homes were hit by stray bullets.
Cambodia and Thailand have clashed in the past over their 800km (500-mile) border. The fighting began Thursday after a landmine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers. Tensions had been growing since May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic rift and roiled Thailand's domestic politics.
Some analysts say the ceasefire remains tenuous and politically complicated.
Kokthay Eng, a Cambodian researcher in history, politics and international relations, warned that the ceasefire may not last if the Thai government fails to secure lower US tariffs.
'It is risky and will require clear markers to build traction,' Southeast Asian political expert Bridget Welsh said. 'A proper border survey should begin immediately. Right now, it's on pause because the roots of the conflict have yet to be addressed.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Jazeera
2 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Pakistan's Sharif hosts Iran's Pezeshkian, agrees to security, trade boost
Pakistan and Iran have signed agreements pledging to raise bilateral trade to $10bn and committing to work more closely to eliminate the menace of 'terrorism' in favour of peace and prosperity in the region, as both nations have recently been embroiled in conflicts with their respective regional foes. Sunday's agreements across various sectors, including energy and trade, were signed during the two-day visit of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. 'We have set a target of $10bn in trade and hope to achieve it as soon as possible,' Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said, addressing a joint press briefing. Sharif reiterated Pakistan's stance of supporting Iran's right to a nuclear programme for peaceful purposes under the United Nations charter and condemned Israel's aggression against Iran, saying there was 'no justification' for the 12-day June conflict in which the United States militarily intervened on Israel's behalf. He said the two countries would take effective steps to eliminate 'terrorism' and open the avenues of prosperity in the region. Pakistan and regional rival India were on the cusp of their fifth all-out war earlier this year before a ceasefire ended several days of heavy and deadly aerial exchanges. The Iranian president said, 'My deep belief is that we can easily, in a short time, increase the volume of our trade relations from the current $3bn to the projected goal of $10bn.' He thanked the government and people supporting Iran 'during the 12-day terrorist aggression by the Zionist regime and the United States'. Analyst Ammar Habib Khan of the Institute of Business Administration told Al Jazeera that the informal trade between Iran and Pakistan is likely to increase more than the formal trade target shared by the countries. 'Discussions have been held on how to formalise the informal trade that is already happening, whether it is oil, gas or something else,' he told Al Jazeera from Karachi. The analyst said Pakistan's normalising relations with Iran might lead to the creation of a trade route between Pakistan and Europe. 'It would be an efficient and logistically sound route,' he said. Along with a high-level delegation, including foreign and defence ministers, Pezeshkian arrived on a two-day visit to Pakistan on Saturday. Tense ties Pezeshkian called for better border management and cooperation around the mutual border to counter security threats. In return, Sharif said that Islamabad and Tehran have a common stand against 'terrorism', and no such activity would be allowed in Pakistan or Iran. 'We have to protect our borders and take strict steps against terrorism to open the roads to peace and development in the region,' said Sharif. Relations between Pakistan and Iran have often been shaky, especially over cross-border tensions that escalated in January 2024 when both sides launched tit-for-tat missile strikes. Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said Pakistan and Iran have agreed to cooperate in order to ensure violence is prevented on either side. 'They agreed to have more border management between the two countries,' he said. Hyder added that the sides also discussed Pakistan acting as an intermediary between Washington and Tehran, among other countries trying to ease tensions between archenemies. Despite the strains, the two countries have kept the diplomatic door open. In May, the Iranian foreign minister visited Pakistan amid rising tensions with India. During the Iran-Israel conflict, Pakistan supported Iran's right to self-defence and condemned the US attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities. The leaders of Pakistan and Iran also called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an end to Israel's attacks in the enclave. The two sides also inked a string of memorandums of understanding in the fields of information technology, law and justice, climate change, and tourism.
Al Jazeera
3 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Where does Trump stand on Israel's starvation of Palestinians?
Western nations discuss Palestinian statehood, but Israel's policy to starve the Palestinians in Gaza remains intact. Despite some pushback from his party to deal with the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza – especially Israel's starvation policy – the US governing Republican Party remains unmoved. Republicans overwhelmingly support Israel's tactics against the Palestinians, as support for Israel plummets among Independent and Democratic voters. Trump says he wants more food to reach Gaza via the militarised distribution mechanism, the GHF. But he criticised Western countries that spoke of diplomatic moves, such as recognising Palestinian statehood. Host Steve Clemons speaks with Republican analyst Mark Pfeifle and Democratic analyst David Bolger on Trump's political calculations on Middle East policy.
Qatar Tribune
19 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Oil falls $2 on worries about OPEC+ supply, US jobs data
Oil prices fell $2 a barrel on Friday around concerns of a possible increase in production by OPEC and its allies, while a weaker-than-expected US jobs report fed worries about demand. Brent crude futures settled at $69.67 a barrel, down $2.03, or 2.83%. US West Texas Intermediate crude finished at $67.33 a barrel, down $1.93, or 2.79%. Brent finished the week with a gain near 6%, while WTI rose 6.29%. Analysts said that OPEC members and allied producers known as OPEC+ may reach an agreement as early as Sunday to boost production by 548,000 barrels per day in September. Meanwhile, the US Labor Department said the country added 73,000 jobs in July, lower than economists had forecast, raising the national unemployment rate to 4.2% from 4.1%. Analysts suggests recent economic issues could be due to either US tariffs or the Federal Reserve's decision not to raise interest rates. On Wednesday, the Fed voted to keep interest rates unchanged, drawing criticism from Trump and a chorus of Republican legislators. Oil traders have focused for much of the week on the potential impact of US tariffs, with tariff rates on US trading partners largely set to take effect from next Friday. Trump signed an executive order on Thursday imposing tariffs ranging from 10% to 41% on US imports from dozens of countries and foreign territories that failed to reach trade deals by his Aug. 1 deadline, including Canada, India and Taiwan. Asian spot prices inch up on geopolitical, supply concerns Asian spot LNG prices inched up after two previous weeks of declines as geopolitical risk factors including US threats of sanctions on energy producer Russia, and supply concerns lent support. The average LNG price for September delivery into Northeast Asia was at $12.10 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), up from $11.90 per mmBtu last week, industry sources estimated. Geopolitics was back on stage with the threat of sanctions on offtakers of Russian oil and gas, potentially tightening the market if LNG is purchased elsewhere, but it remains unclear how things will turn out, analysts said. US President Donald Trump has threatened sanctions on both Russia and buyers of its exports unless Moscow makes progress toward ending the war in Ukraine by August 8. Meanwhile, the trade agreement the US struck with the European Union remained supportive, as the EU pledged to buy $250 billion of US energy supplies per year. Additionally boosting prices, last week's earthquake in eastern Russia triggering tsunami alerts and a slower than expected ramp-up at LNG Canada added to supply concerns, said analysts. In Europe, the futures price at the Dutch TTF hub rose to $11.54 per mmBtu. Continued strong pipeline gas flows and high German wind generation will suppress bullish impulses. However, LNG supply tightness from Italy's Rovigo maintenance and intensified Egyptian procurement activity may introduce upward risk. — By The Al-Attiyah Foundation
