Despite US President Donald Trump’s assertion that Thailand and Cambodia had agreed to an immediate ceasefire, intense border fighting between their forces continued early Saturday morning. Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul immediately contradicted the claim, stating he informed Trump that a truce required Cambodia to first withdraw all its forces and remove landmines.
Furthermore, he publicly declared on social media, “Thailand will continue to perform military actions until we feel no more harm and threats to our land and people. I want to make it clear. Our actions this morning already spoke.”
Overnight shelling persisted while Thai forces actively pushed forward to secure several crucial vantage points along the disputed 800km border area. Consequently, the renewed conflict has tragically resulted in at least 21 fatalities, prompting the mass evacuation of 700,000 civilians from both nations.
Diplomatic Contradiction and Escalation
Trump, who previously boasted he could halt the conflict simply “by picking up the phone,” announced late Friday that the nations agreed to “cease shooting effective this evening” and revive their October agreement. He confidently concluded, “Both countries are ready for peace.” Prime Minister Anutin, however, clarified that he told the US President Thailand was not the aggressor, demanding Cambodia demonstrably withdraw its forces and clear border landmines before peace could happen. “They must show us first,” he asserted.
Notably, reports did not mention using tariffs as leverage, a tactic employed in July, especially since Thailand already warned the US not to link the border conflict to ongoing trade disputes. Meanwhile, Cambodia reported fresh Thai air strikes on Saturday morning, claiming in an X post, “On 13 December, 2025, the Thai military used two F-16 fighter jets to drop seven bombs.” The Ministry of Defence added that “Thai military aircraft have not stopped bombing yet.” The Thai military also confirmed fighting continued across the contested border, a dispute stemming back over a century to French cartography in 1907.
