Fighting rages on Thai-Cambodian border despite Trump's ceasefire claim
[December 13, 2025]
By JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI and GRANT PECK
SURIN, Thailand (AP) — Fighting raged Saturday morning along the border
of Thailand and Cambodia, even after U.S. President Donald Trump, acting
as a mediator, declared that he had won agreement from both countries
for a ceasefire.
Thai officials have said they did not agree to a ceasefire, and Cambodia
has not commented on Trump’s claim. Its defense ministry instead said
Thai jets carried out airstrikes Saturday morning. Cambodian media
reported Trump’s claim without elaborating.
Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said Saturday that some of
Trump's remarks didn't “reflect an accurate understanding of the
situation.”
“We regret and we're disappointed that some of the points made by
President Trump have bearing upon the feeling of the Thai people,
Thailand, because we consider ourselves — we are proud, in fact — to be
the oldest treaty ally of the United States in the region," he said.
The latest large-scale fighting was set off by a skirmish on Dec. 7 that
wounded two Thai soldiers and derailed a ceasefire promoted by Trump
that ended five days of earlier combat in July over longstanding
territorial disputes.
The July ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by
pressure from Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless
Thailand and Cambodia agreed. It was formalized in more detail in
October at a regional meeting in Malaysia that Trump attended.
About two dozen people have officially been reported killed in this past
week’s fighting, while hundreds of thousands have been displaced on both
sides of the border.
The Thai military acknowledges 11 of its troops have been killed, while
estimating there have been 165 fatalities among Cambodian soldiers.
Cambodia has not announced military casualties, but has said at least 11
civilians have been killed and 76 wounded.
Trump on Friday, after speaking to Thai Prime Minister Anutin
Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, had announced an
agreement to restart the ceasefire.
“They have agreed to CEASE all shooting effective this evening, and go
back to the original Peace Accord made with me, and them, with the help
of the Great Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim,” Trump said in
his Truth Social post.
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Village security volunteers and resident run into shelter while the
blasts sounded too close in Buriram province, Thailand, Friday, Dec.
12, 2025, following renewed border conflict between Thailand and
Cambodia. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Trump’s claim came after midnight in Bangkok. Thai Prime Minister
Anutin had after his call with Trump said he had explained
Thailand’s reasons for fighting and said peace would depend on
Cambodia ceasing its attacks first. The Thai foreign ministry later
explicitly disputed Trump’s claim that a ceasefire had been reached.
Anutin's busy day on Friday including dissolving Parliament so new
elections could be held early next year.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, in comments posted early
Saturday morning, also made no mention of a ceasefire.
He said he held phone conversations on Friday night with Trump, and
a night earlier with Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and
thanked both “for their continuous efforts to achieve a long-lasting
peace between Cambodia and Thailand.”
“Cambodia is ready to cooperate in any way that is needed,' Hun
Manet wrote.
Thailand has been carrying out airstrikes on what it says are
strictly military targets, while Cambodia has been firing thousands
of medium-range BM-21 rockets that have caused havoc but relatively
few casualties.
BM-21 rocket launchers can fire up to 40 rockets at a time with a
range of 30-40 kilometers (19-25 miles). These rockets cannot be
precisely targeted and have landed largely in areas from where most
people have already been evacuated.
However, the Thai army announced Saturday that BM-21 rockets had hit
a civilian area in Sisaket province, seriously injuring two
civilians who had heard warning sirens and had been running toward a
bunker for safety.
——
Peck reported from Bangkok. Sopheng Cheang in Serei Saophoan,
Cambodia, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
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