Thailand and Cambodia exchange criticisms, yet a precarious peace prevails.
Cambodia and Thailand Agree to Ceasefire Following Border Clash
After five days of intense fighting along their disputed border, Cambodia and Thailand have agreed to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. The agreement was reached at a meeting in Malaysia on Monday.
The violence erupted last week following Thai accusations that Cambodia had laid new landlines in the area, which they claim maimed Thai soldiers. Phnom Penh, however, has rejected these allegations as baseless and harmful to the trust-building process.
The ceasefire includes a halt to troop movement and paves the way for a high-level military meeting including defense ministers on August 4 in Cambodia. As of the latest information on July 28, 2025, there have been no reports of any exchange of heavy artillery fire since the truce was announced.
However, details about who is currently holding captured soldiers from each side are not provided in the available sources. The Thai government is holding 18 Cambodian soldiers who it says surrendered in Sisaket province, according to a Thai government spokesperson. Cambodia, on the other hand, accuses Thailand of illegally capturing 20 soldiers.
In an effort to verify the ceasefire, Cambodia took military attaches and diplomats to a border checkpoint destroyed by fighting. Thailand's military denies Cambodian forces breached the truce at three separate locations along the disputed frontier.
The ceasefire agreement also includes support for a monitoring mechanism and independent observation. International figures, such as President Trump, have emphasized the expectation that both Cambodia and Thailand honor this agreement.
This full-blown fighting is not the first incident between the two countries. In May, a Cambodian soldier was killed in a brief gun battle, which led to a troop buildup and a diplomatic crisis. Two other Cambodian soldiers are suspected to have died, but their fate is unknown. The bodies of two deceased Cambodian soldiers were returned on Tuesday.
Thailand and Cambodia have argued for decades over jurisdiction of various undemarcated points along their 817-km (508-mile) land border. There have been occasional skirmishes, with ownership of several ancient temples central to the disputes.
The hope is that this ceasefire will mark a step towards resolving these long-standing disputes and preventing further loss of life and displacement of civilians. Without more detailed updates, the status of prisoner holdings remains unclear from the current data.
[1] Sources: BBC News, Reuters, The Phnom Penh Post, The Bangkok Post, The Straits Times.
War-and-conflicts continue to dominate general-news headlines, as the ongoing border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand remains unresolved. Politics play a significant role in this conflict, as each country asserts its sovereignty over various undemarcated points along their shared border, including ancient temples.
