Thailand and Cambodia agreed to an unconditional ceasefire on Monday, July 28, which took effect at midnight.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who currently chairs ASEAN and acts as mediator, said:
"Cambodia and Thailand have reached an agreement on an immediate and unconditional ceasefire effective midnight local time on July 28, 2025."
"They will hold bilateral talks at several levels to end the bloody border conflict and return to normalcy ."
As we reported in a previous article, the conflict was possibly triggered to force a return to normalcy so that Cambodia could restart operations at its call centers and casinos.
See: Thailand-Cambodia Conflict: Civilians Sacrificed to Protect Call Centers?
Anwar spoke after the first meeting between the two neighboring countries, which have been engaged in cross-border clashes since July 24.
Mr. Anwar described the outcome of the special meeting between Acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet as a positive development.
The two leaders had a frank discussion and showed their firm commitment to restoring peace and normalcy in their countries and the region, he noted.
Anwar thanked the representatives of China and the United States for their participation, expressing his gratitude to US President Donald Trump, who has been in contact with the leaders of both countries to help find a peaceful solution to the conflict.
See: Trump calls on Thailand and Cambodia to stop fighting
According to Anwar, China has maintained close contacts with Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and other relevant countries, actively promoting dialogue, ceasefire efforts and the peacemaking process, with the cooperation of all parties concerned.
“Tonight’s immediate ceasefire is a critical first step toward de-escalation and the restoration of peace and security,” Anwar said.
Regional commanders from both countries will meet on Tuesday morning and travel to each other's territory in turn.
Further talks will take place within existing mechanisms, with ASEAN responsible for verifying and ensuring their implementation.
Communication between the respective prime ministers and defense ministers will resume as part of efforts to restore peace between the two nations.
Both countries reaffirmed their commitment to the rule of law, peaceful coexistence and multilateral cooperation, with the aim of finding a just and lasting solution to the situation, according to Mr. Anwar.
Hun Manet said the ceasefire offered a way "to move forward," noting that he had a very productive meeting, which led to an immediate end to the fighting, which had left many dead and injured and caused massive displacement.
"The solution will create the necessary conditions to move forward, restore normal relations and lay the foundations for future de-escalation," he said.
"I am confident that today's outcome will provide ample opportunities for hundreds of thousands of people on both sides to return to normal lives, end the conflict, and begin to rebuild trust and cooperation between Cambodia and Thailand," he said.
Mr. Phumtham expressed his gratitude to all the countries that participated in the meeting, adding:
"Today's outcome reflects Thailand's commitment to a peaceful resolution, while continuing to protect our sovereignty and the lives of our people."
The ceasefire comes into effect
Fewer and Cambodian civilians fleeing Thai bombardments. Photo: Khmer Times
In the Cambodian town of Samraong, 20 kilometers from the border, an AFP journalist heard a steady drumbeat of artillery fire throughout Monday, before the explosions stopped in the 30 minutes before midnight.
Since Thursday, planes, rockets and artillery fire have killed at least 38 people and displaced nearly 300,000.
The outbreak of violence is the deadliest since sporadic violence ravaged the territory between 2008 and 2011, claimed by both countries because of a vague demarcation established by Cambodia's French colonial administrators in 1907.
"When I heard the news, I was so happy because I miss my home and my belongings," Phean Neth told AFP Monday evening at a sprawling camp for Cambodian evacuees set up on the site of a temple far from the fighting.
"I'm so happy I can't describe it," said the 45-year-old.
"If they say they will stop shooting, they must stop completely," said Prapakarn Samruamjit, a 43-year-old Thai evacuee in the town of Surin.
Extreme tension
A BM21 rocket fired from Cambodia hit a convenience store located at a PTT gas station in Ban Phue, Kantharalak District, Si Sa Ket, causing a fire that killed eight people and injured 13 others on Thursday, July 24, 2025. Photo: Kantharalak Police Station
On the eve of the talks, the Thai military said Cambodian snipers were camped at one of the disputed temples and accused Phnom Penh of deploying troops along the border and bombarding Thai territory with rockets.
She said fighting was taking place in seven areas of the rural region, which is characterized by a range of hills surrounded by wild jungle and fields where residents grow rubber and rice.
Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn celebrated his 73rd birthday on Monday , but a notice in the country's official gazette announced that planned public celebrations at Bangkok's Grand Palace had been canceled due to the unrest.
The two sides had already agreed to a tentative ceasefire, while accusing each other of undermining peace efforts and trading accusations over the use of cluster bombs and the targeting of hospitals.
See: Thailand – Cambodia: request for ceasefire and cross accusations
Thailand claims 11 of its soldiers and 14 civilians were killed, while Cambodia has confirmed only eight civilian deaths and five military personnel.
However, the Thai military said it had returned the bodies of 12 Cambodian soldiers killed in action.
More than 138,000 people have fled Thailand's border regions, while around 140,000 have been driven from their homes in Cambodia.
With clashes fueling nationalist sentiments, Thailand has warned its citizens to "refrain from any form of violence, verbal or physical," against Cambodian migrants living in the country.
See: Thailand: Warning against online hate and violence targeting Cambodians
See also:
Thailand accuses Cambodia of lies and war crimes
Thailand-Cambodia conflict: travel advice, areas to avoid
Trump calls on Thailand and Cambodia to stop fighting
Thailand-Cambodia conflict: 11 dead, including children, after deadly attacks
Thailand-Cambodia conflict worsens: 5 Thai soldiers injured by mine
Fraudulent call centers: Thailand blames Cambodian elite
Call centers in Cambodia: the noose tightens around Hun Sen's family
Horror of call centers in Cambodia: kidnapping, torture, rape
Source: Thai PBS News , Bangkok Post
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1 comment
What should we think of this ceasefire that came into effect this Tuesday at midnight when we reread the various press articles discussing this armed conflict since the beginning of last week and the level of confidence that Thailand can have in the declarations of the Cambodian authorities (HUN family, father and son) and the underlying motivations that drive them?
First of all, at the military level, it is an established fact that the Cambodian Army is under-trained, under-equipped in terms of men and equipment and that it is no match for the American land equipment, aircraft and heavy equipment with which Thailand is equipped, in particular the F16s based at U-Tapao airport which can fly over Cambodia in less than 20 minutes!!!
Cambodia therefore had no interest in entering into a real "declaration of war" with Thailand.
But at present, this is only a simple "ceasefire," before any discussion and talks on a peace agreement for a "return to normalcy."
So everything remains to be done, starting with asking the question: what exactly does a "return to normal" mean for both parties?
Certainly a gradual withdrawal of the two armies along the front line while maintaining a military presence where the border is not currently defined, which was the situation before the armed conflict and the return of the inhabitants of the evacuated villages with all security guarantees.
But apart from that, will the negotiations put on the table proposals for an agreement to finally redraw a full and complete border more than 800 km long and "broken" into 4 zones including that of the Preah Vihear Temple claimed by the 2 countries for decades, initially drawn by the French colonizers and very quickly contested?
Where will we return to the status quo before the armed clashes without seeking to go further?
This would certainly be a missed opportunity to resolve the problem once and for all and avoid a new armed conflict in the future...
On the other hand, it is clear that since the closure of the border crossing points between the two countries, the Cambodian economy has been deprived of a good part of its income, and more particularly those generated by the dark and corrupt side of its casinos and the exploitation of human beings (kidnapping, torture, forced labor, executions for example) employed in fraudulent call centers which make thousands of victims in Thailand on the internet, dispossessed of their money and bank accounts for the benefit of the corrupting power of the HUN family, a true state mafia.
It is therefore certain that the HUN family will put in the balance of negotiations to advance the issue of a 100% official border, the reopening of border posts and the silencing, or even the silence, of the issue of fraudulent call centers which bring in billions of dollars to the Cambodian government.
Will Thailand enter into this game, into this kind of dubious negotiations which could call into question its official position on human rights, to which it is a signatory and for which it obtained a seat on the United Nations Council for 3 years since October 2024???
And finally, the two countries, in their preliminary declaration, reaffirmed "their attachment to the principles of the rule of law."
When we know how elections are "manufactured" in Cambodia to maintain a family dictatorship that does not bear its name, and the repeated "hiccups" on the numerous joint maneuvers between certain political, legislative and judicial powers during Thai electoral campaigns to oust certain political parties and leaders who have become too influential and troublesome, we would almost be overcome with laughter if the situation were not so dramatic for a population that suffers the direct and indirect consequences...
There is a lot of work ahead to improve a situation which, ultimately, should primarily benefit the well-being and better living of a population that is too often overlooked.
The future of these talks will tell us more about the real motivations on both sides of a very unstable border!!!