Thailand and Cambodia agree to immediate and unconditional ceasefire after days of border clashes
The clashes began on Thursday after a land mine explosion wounded five Thai soldiers.
Both countries blamed each other for starting the violence which included exchanges of gun and rocket fire along the border.
More than 260,000 fled their homes.
'This is a vital first step towards de-escalation and the restoration of peace and security,' Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said after hosting talks between the two countries on Monday.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thai Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai agreed to halt the fighting.
As part of the ceasefire deal, military commanders from both sides will hold talks on Tuesday to defuse tensions while Cambodia will host a border committee meeting next week.
Thailand closed its border last week and urged all Thai nationals in Cambodia to leave the country and advised against travel to Cambodia.
In response, Cambodia downgraded diplomatic relations with Thailand, expelled the Thai ambassador and recalled all Cambodian staff from its embassy in Bangkok.
Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet said it was now 'time to start rebuilding trust, confidence and cooperation".
News of the ceasefire was well received by people sheltering at evacuation centres.
'We miss our home," said Usa Dasri, a farmer who evacuated to a centre in Surin in Thailand.
"There are many small things I'm worried about, livestock and rice fields.
"I don't know what might've happened to them.
"I want to go home, so I'm happy."
Cambodian evacuees agreed.
But Chhuot Nhav who fled her home in Oddar Meanchey province said she would not go home until she knew the fighting had stopped.
The 800-kilometre frontier between Thailand and Cambodia has been disputed for decades but the latest tensions erupted in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic rift and roiled Thailand's domestic politics.
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Reuters
a day ago
- Reuters
Cambodia's Hun Sen at the helm in border conflict with Thailand
July 31 (Reuters) - When weeks of tensions escalated into a major border conflict with Thailand last week, former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen appeared to take charge of his country's response. Photographs showed him at the end of a long table, speaking with military officers and poring over detailed maps, radio set in hand and a cup of Starbucks coffee within arms reach. The former guerrilla fighter is no longer Cambodia's leader, having passed on the premiership to his eldest son in 2023 after nearly four decades in power, and has taken over as the president of the Southeast Asian nation's Senate. But Hun Sen played an outsized role in events leading up to the deadliest fighting between Thailand and Cambodia in over a decade and - according to three diplomatic sources - showed his continuing influence during the five-day conflict. On Friday, after artillery fired from Cambodia landed in civilian areas in Thailand's border provinces, the Thai army took direct aim at him. "Based on available evidence, it is believed that the Cambodian government, led by Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, is behind these appalling attacks," it said in a statement, using honorifics for the veteran politician. Within hours of the clashes breaking out, Hun Sen, 72, was sharing a flurry of posts on Facebook, his favoured social media platform, to rally his people and criticise Thailand. In one photograph he posted, Hun Sen is seen in a video conference call with a dozen people, including several soldiers. In another post, he shared a photo of himself in combat fatigues. "On the border clashes, what strikes me is the extent to which he goes to create the optics of being in charge - wearing the uniform, being seen as directing the troop movements, intervening on Facebook," a Cambodia-based diplomat told Reuters. Like all the other diplomats interviewed for this story, he asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue. Lim Menghour, a Cambodia government official working on foreign policy, said Hun Sen acted as the main logistics commander for troops on the frontline. "He has always monitored and kept observing the situation all the time," he told Reuters. In contrast to his father, Cambodia's incumbent premier Hun Manet, a four-star general and graduate of the West Point military academy in the United States, remained more muted on social media in the early days of the conflict, changing tack as he readied to travel to Malaysia for negotiations that yielded a ceasefire. Chhay Sophal, a Phnom Penh-based author of books on Hun Sen and his family, said the former premier can direct the government in his capacity as the president of the ruling Cambodian People's Party. "So, the prime minister must respect and follow the party's policy and president," he said. A Cambodia government spokesman did not respond to questions from Reuters. Thailand and Cambodia have bickered for decades over undemarcated sections of their 817 km (508 miles) land border, which has also led to fighting in the past. The recent tensions began rising in May, following the killing of a Cambodian soldier during a skirmish, and have steadily escalated since - a situation that Thai premier Paetongtarn Shinawatra sought to diffuse when she spoke directly with Hun Sen on June 15. A partial recording of the call was initially leaked, where Paetongtarn, 38, can be heard criticising a Thai general and kowtowing to Hun Sen, who later released the full audio of their conversation, triggering a political crisis in Thailand. In a rambling three-hour televised speech in late June, Hun Sen openly rebuked Paetongtarn for her handling of the border row and attacked her father, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, long seen as his ally. "At least before the flare-up, he was very much right there in your face," said a regional diplomat who closely tracks Cambodia. "I mean, he was the one who was mostly visible, who was making all the pronouncements." Hun Sen is a wily survivor of Cambodian politics and the wider tumult across Southeast Asia over the last half-a-century. Born to rice farmers in a province heavily bombed during the secret U.S. war in Cambodia and Laos, he became a soldier for the Khmer Rouge, whose murderous regime from 1975 to 1979 killed about a quarter of the population. But he defected to Vietnam in 1977 and, when they overthrew the Khmer Rouge, Hun Sen returned as foreign minister and then rose to become prime minister. The self-styled strongman presided over an economic boom in Cambodia, with per capita income almost quadrupling from $240 to $1,000 in the decade from 1993 to 2013. But much of the new-found wealth came to be concentrated in the hands of the country's ruling elite, even as political rivals were jailed or exiled, critical media outlets shuttered and civil dissent crushed, paving the way for Hun Manet to take over. In recent months, even domestic administrative policy decisions were being brought to Hun Sen for approval, according to the regional diplomat who interacts with Cambodian officials. Now, the border conflict has made his clout more apparent, and there has been an outpouring of support for the government on social media amid a wave of nationalism. "It hasn't surprised anyone that he's taken the lead which tells you everyone knew he was in charge," another Cambodia-based diplomat said. "If the goal is to strengthen nationalism, he has succeeded."
The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Thailand and Cambodia plan border visits for diplomats as violence eases
Thailand and Cambodia separately planned border visits for foreign diplomats to observe damages from the nearly weeklong clash, as violence that continued after a ceasefire appears to have eased. The ceasefire reached in Malaysia was supposed to take effect midnight Monday, but it was quickly tested as Thailand and Cambodia continued to accuse each other of violating the truce agreements. Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday it is organizing a trip to the border for military attachés of foreign missions and the media on Friday to show the impact of the clashes on the ground. Cambodia is also organizing a border visit for foreign diplomats on the same day. It held a similar trip on Wednesday attended by representatives from 13 countries, including the U.S. and China. Thailand's government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub said Thursday that there had been no new clashes reported overnight Wednesday. But tensions on other fronts continue to simmer. Officials in Thailand's border province of Surin, one of the critical locations of the conflict, on Thursday cautioned evacuees against returning home as they were surveying affected areas for any ammunition that might still pose a risk. A spokesperson for Cambodia's Defense Ministry Maly Socheata said Thursday that Cambodia has received the body of one of its soldiers from Thailand. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said the military is now in contact with its Thai counterparts to facilitate the return of about 20 other soldiers captured by Thai forces. 'I hope that the Thai Army will return all our soldiers who are currently in the custody of the Thai Army to Cambodia as soon as possible,' he said. Thai foreign minister Maris Sagniampongsa said the Cambodian soldiers were being well taken care of and would be sent back once Thailand is confident they no longer pose a threat. He said security officials would determine when the return would be. Hun Manet and Thailand's acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, agreed Monday to an 'unconditional' halt in the fighting which has killed at least 41 people. The fighting began last week after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers. The peace talks were hosted by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He called the ceasefire a 'vital first step towards de-escalation and the restoration of peace and security.' The ceasefire was brokered with U.S. pressure as President Donald Trump said he would not move forward with trade agreements if the conflict continued. But both countries continued to blame at each other and Thailand accused Cambodia of launching new attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday after the agreement took effect. Cambodia's Maj. Gen. Chan Sopheaktra of the Preah Vihear province said Wednesday that the Cambodian military has been strictly adhering to the ceasefire agreement and that there had been two ceasefire violations by Thai forces since the agreement took effect. He did not elaborate on the violations. Cambodia and Thailand have clashed in the past over their 800-kilometer (500-mile) border. 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. ___ Sopheng Cheang reported from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Reuters
Malaysia PM says US tariff rate on Malaysian goods to be announced Friday
KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 (Reuters) - The U.S. tariff rate on Malaysian goods will be announced on Friday, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Thursday after speaking to U.S. President Donald Trump. "We discussed tariff issues in the spirit and principle of free trade ... After the explanation I provided, he (Trump) decided to postpone the announcement to the following day, and the tariff rates will be announced," Anwar said in a speech to parliament to present the country's new five-year economic plan. Anwar also said Trump confirmed that he would attend an ASEAN summit in Malaysia in October. Malaysia will target annual GDP growth of 4.5% to 5.5% from 2026 to 2030, Anwar said when launching the new five-year plan. The Southeast Asian nation is also targeting export growth of 5.8% a year in the plan, and will strive to keep inflation at an average rate of 2%-3% for the period, he said. "The next five years will be a crucial period for Malaysia to not only transition into a high-income nation but also to provide a high quality of living for the people," Anwar said.
