Thailand launches airstrikes on Cambodia as Trump’s peace agreement hangs in balance

CNN

By Kocha Olarn, Rhea Mogul and Ally Barnard, CNN

(CNN) — Thailand launched airstrikes against Cambodia on Monday as a new wave of fighting erupted between the Southeast Asian neighbors, leaving a peace plan presided over by US President Donald Trump just two months ago in danger of collapse.

Both sides accused the other of launching strikes along their disputed border in the early morning hours, after weeks of simmering tension and the earlier suspension of progress on the ceasefire agreement by Thailand.

The two nations have repeatedly fought brief border skirmishes in recent decades, with a deadly five-day conflict in July leaving dozens dead and displacing about 200,000 on both sides of the frontier.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the country “never wished to see violence,” but would “not allow the violation of its sovereignty.”

Additional military action would be decided “according to the conditions of the situation,” he said, in apparent reference to further aggression from Cambodia.

Thailand’s Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow told CNN later Monday that military action would continue “until we feel that sovereignty and territorial integrity are not challenged.”

Asked by CNN if Thailand was planning to discuss the latest border clashes with Trump, Sihasak said it was up to Cambodia and Thailand to “work things out.”

“We’re not really convinced that the joint (peace) declaration is working according to its intention,” he said in a sit-down interview. “I think this is something that we have to work out with Cambodia.”

Cambodia’s defense ministry condemned the Thai strikes, insisting it remained committed to implementing the previous ceasefire.

Airstrikes were ‘retaliation’

Thailand’s army said Monday’s airstrikes targeted Cambodian military infrastructure, and were retaliation for an attack earlier on Monday that killed a Thai soldier and injured seven people.

“The target was at Cambodia’s arms supporting positions in the area of Chong An Ma Pass,” said army spokesperson Maj. Gen. Winthai Suvaree, who accused Cambodia of using “artilleries and mortar launchers to attack the Thai side at Anupong Base.”

Cambodia began targeting the Thai border at around 3 a.m. local time, mobilizing heavy weapons and repositioning combat units, Thai military officials claimed. The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) called them “activities that could escalate military operations and pose a threat to the Thai border area.”

But Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defense denied the Thai allegations, calling it “false information” in a statement.

The Cambodian army accused Thailand of launching “an attack” on its forces at around 5.04 a.m. local time. “It should be noted that this attack occurred after the Thai forces engaged in numerous provocative actions for many days,” it said.

The defense ministry said it “did not retaliate at all.”

Spokesperson Maly Socheata later accused Thai forces of burning homes, causing injuries and “prompting people to flee” from border villages in the northern provinces of Oddar Meanchey and in Preah Vihear.

At least four Cambodian civilians have been killed and several others injured in the two provinces, Cambodian Minister of Information Neth Pheaktra said in a Facebook post Monday. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced, he added.

Thailand began evacuating civilians from affected border towns on Sunday, with about 70% already moved, according to its army. Nearly 400,000 people have evacuated to temporary shelters, Thailand’s foreign ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura said.

Trump’s ceasefire deal

Following the flare-up earlier this year, which was the most serious fighting in years, an initial ceasefire between the two sides was agreed on July 28 after Trump held calls with their respective leaders.

Thailand and Cambodia then signed an expanded ceasefire declaration in Kuala Lumpur in late October in a ceremony witnessed by Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Ibrahim on Monday said he was “deeply concerned by reports of armed clashes between Cambodian and Thai forces,” while urging restraint on both sides. “The renewed fighting risks unravelling the careful work that has gone into stabilising relations between the two neighbours,” he wrote in a statement.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also urged both countries to de-escalate. He called for them to return to the framework signed in Kuala Lumpur and to “engage in dialogue to find ways to lower the tensions,” his spokesperson said on Monday.

Thailand’s foreign ministry met with the Malaysian ambassador and the chargé d’affaires of the United States following the latest flare-up, Nikorndej said Monday, without providing further details.

Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc, a regional group focused on economic, political, and security cooperation in Southeast Asia.

The October ceasefire declaration was viewed by Trump as a major diplomatic victory, and another fillip to his much vaunted – and often disputed – campaign to have ended several wars.

However, within less than a fortnight of signing, the agreement between Thailand and Cambodia began fraying.

Thailand said it was halting progress on the agreement after a landmine explosion at the border injured several Thai soldiers.

The two countries share a 500-mile (800-kilometer) land border, and the territorial dispute over demarcated portions of it largely stems from a map drawn up by the French when they controlled Cambodia as a colony, which Thailand does not accept.

This story has been updated.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.