Thailand accuses Cambodia of second ceasefire violation in two days
Thailand's military accused Cambodian forces on Wednesday of breaching a ceasefire agreement at three separate locations along the disputed border, warning that continued aggression could compel Thai forces to respond more decisively.
The allegations come less than two days after both governments agreed to a ceasefire brokered in Malaysia, which came into effect at midnight on Monday, aimed to stop fighting and prevent escalation of their deadliest conflict in more than a decade following five days of intense fighting that has killed at least 43 people and displaced over 300,000 civilians on either side.
The truce came after a sustained push from Malaysian Premier Anwar Ibrahim and U.S. President Donald Trump, with the latter warning Thai and Cambodian leaders that trade negotiations would not progress if fighting continued.
Thailand and Cambodia face a tariff of 36% on their goods in the U.S., their biggest export market, unless a reduction can be negotiated. After the ceasefire deal was reached, Trump said he had spoken to both leaders and instructed his trade team to restart tariff talks.
On Wednesday, Thailand said Cambodian forces fired on positions in northeastern Thailand's Sisaket province on Cambodia's northern border.
"Cambodian forces used small arms and grenade launchers, prompting Thailand to respond in self-defence," Thai army spokesman Major-General Winthai Suvaree told reporters.
"This was the second incident since the agreement and reflects a behaviour that does not respect agreements, destroys de-escalation efforts and hampers trust between the two countries."
Cambodia rejected the allegations, saying it was committed to the ceasefire and called for observers.
"Cambodia strongly rejects the ceasefire accusations as false, misleading and harmful to the fragile trust-building process," Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Chum Sounry told reporters at a press conference, adding the government supports a monitoring mechanism and independent observation.
The ceasefire, which also agreed to halt troop movement, paves the way for a high-level military meeting that includes defence ministers on August 4 in Cambodia. There have been no reports of any exchange of heavy artillery fire but also no reports of troop withdrawals by either side.
© Thomson Reuters 2025.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Today
2 minutes ago
- Japan Today
Trump threatens to raise tariffs on goods from India over Russian oil purchases
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 13, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo By Kanishka Singh and Doina Chiacu Donald Trump said on Monday he will substantially raise tariffs on goods from India over its Russian oil purchases, while New Delhi said it would take measures to safeguard its interests and called its targeting by the U.S. president "unjustified." Trump said last week Washington was still negotiating with India on trade after announcing the U.S. would impose a 25% tariff on goods imported from the country starting last Friday. India has faced pressure from the West, including the U.S., to distance itself from Moscow after Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022. New Delhi has resisted that pressure, citing its longstanding ties with Russia and economic needs."India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits. They don't care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA." He did not elaborate on what the tariff would be. Over the weekend, two Indian government sources told Reuters that India will keep purchasing oil from Russia despite Trump's threats. The sources did not wish to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. Washington has cited geopolitical disagreements with India to explain why it has not yet been able to reach a trade deal with New Delhi. Other than India's ties with Russia, Trump has cast the BRICS group of developing nations - of which India is a key part - as hostile to the U.S. Those nations have dismissed that accusation, saying the group promotes the interests of its members and of developing countries at large. A spokesperson for India's foreign ministry said India will "take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security." "In this background, the targeting of India is unjustified and unreasonable," the spokesperson added. India began importing oil from Russia because traditional supplies were diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict, the Indian statement said. The spokesperson said India's imports were meant to ensure affordable energy costs for Indian consumers and were a "necessity compelled by global market situation." The statement also noted the West's, particularly the European Union's, bilateral trade with Russia: "It is revealing that the very nations criticizing India are themselves indulging in trade with Russia." India also has been frustrated by Trump repeatedly taking credit for an India-Pakistan ceasefire that he announced on social media on May 10. The ceasefire halted days of hostilities between the nuclear-armed Asian neighbors. India's position has been that New Delhi and Islamabad must resolve their issues directly without outside involvement. Trump has reached a trade deal with Pakistan. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
Japan Today
2 minutes ago
- Japan Today
U.S. government restricts sports visas for transgender women
FILE PHOTO: A U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) naturalization ceremony in New York City, U.S., September 17, 2021. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on Monday it has updated its immigration policy to restrict visa eligibility for transgender women seeking to compete in women's sports. Under the policy update, USCIS will consider "the fact that a male athlete has been competing against women" as a negative factor when evaluating visa petitions in categories such as O-1A for extraordinary ability, EB-1 and EB-2 green cards for highly skilled workers, and national interest waivers. "USCIS is closing the loophole for foreign male athletes whose only chance at winning elite sports is to change their gender identity and leverage their biological advantages against women," said USCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser. "It's a matter of safety, fairness, respect, and truth that only female athletes receive a visa to come to the U.S. to participate in women's sports." The move aligns with broader efforts by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to regulate transgender participation in athletics and follows similar policies enacted at the state level across the country. The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee last month updated its policy to align with an executive order signed earlier this year by Trump barring transgender women from competing in women's sports. Trump signed the "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" order in February, a directive that supporters said will restore fairness but critics argue infringes on the rights of a tiny minority of athletes. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
The Diplomat
8 hours ago
- The Diplomat
Trump to Attend ASEAN Meetings in October, Malaysian PM Says
Even if confirmed, it is hard to draw conclusions about what it means for the future trajectory of U.S.-Southeast Asia relations. U.S. President Donald Trump is set to attend the next Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit and related meetings in October, Malaysia's prime minister said late last week. Anwar, who currently holds ASEAN's rotating chairmanship, told parliament on Thursday that Trump had accepted his invitation to attend the 47th ASEAN Summit and related meetings during a phone call earlier in the day, during which they discussed the border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia. 'He started by expressing his appreciation to Malaysia for its role in resolving the Thai-Cambodia conflict,' said Anwar, as per Bloomberg. 'I said this is because of the ASEAN unity and their positive attitudes and the cooperation of the U.S. and Trump and China's Xi.' If confirmed – and the White House has not yet announced whether or not Trump will attend – it would certainly be welcome news for Anwar. During his first term in office, Trump attended ASEAN meetings just once, in the Philippines in 2017. Even then, he left before the East Asia Summit (EAS), a regional forum that is the most important event for U.S. presidents during ASEAN's late-year clutch of summits. In 2018, he was represented at the EAS by Vice President Mike Pence; in 2019 and 2020, he was represented by National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, the lowest level representation since 2011. His Democratic predecessor Barack Obama attended five of the eight EASs during his two terms in office, in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2016. Joe Biden attended the virtual EAS in 2021, the in-person summit in 2022, but did not attend the 2023 and 2024 summits. First held in 2005, the EAS includes leaders from the 10 ASEAN member states, in addition to Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea, and the U.S. The Malaysian state news agency Bernama described Anwar's announcement as a 'diplomatic coup for Malaysia and a testament to Anwar's inclusive leadership.' This was a reference to the discussions that Anwar and Trump had over the Cambodia-Thailand border conflict, which erupted on July 24 in the vicinity of Ta Moan Thom temple. Five days later, the two nations agreed to a ceasefire in Putrajaya, in talks brokered by Anwar, reportedly after Trump applied pressure on both nations to cease hostilities. Bernama quoted Dr. Azmi Hassan, a senior fellow at the Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research, as saying that Anwar 'did not sideline the U.S. when negotiating the ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia. He ensured that both the U.S. and China were part of the broader regional conversation.' In the past, whether U.S. presidents have chosen to attend the EAS in person has generally been used in Southeast Asia to gauge how much priority Washington has placed on the region. Certainly, their absence has been seen as a sign of American disinterest or neglect. However, even if the U.S. president attends – and what Trump says on a phone call may or may not mean something in two months' time – it will be hard to draw any binding conclusions from it. Trump's approach to the region since the beginning of his second term has been dominated by his administration's chaotic and volatile tariff policy, which has unsettled policymakers across the region. Even though the country's largest economies were rewarded with relatively 'good deals' during Trump's apparently final tariff announcement on August 1, the unpredictable means that the administration used to negotiate the tariffs, and the uncertainty that still hovers over the question of trade, showed little sensitivity toward the needs and interests of U.S. partners in the region, particularly Vietnam. Even if Trump attends this year's East Asia Summit, the course of U.S. policy in Southeast Asia for the rest of Trump's term will remain opaque at best.
