Cambodian official praises Trump’s role in brokering ceasefire with Thailand
A senior Cambodian official has credited U.S. President Donald Trump with playing a key role in brokering a ceasefire between Cambodia and Thailand, following the region's most intense border conflict in more than a decade.
At least 36 people were killed and hundreds of thousands displaced in a five-day conflict that escalated along the disputed Thai-Cambodian border. The ceasefire, which began at midnight on Monday, came after pressure from President Trump, who threatened to pause U.S. trade tariff talks with both countries if fighting continued, News.Az reports, citing ABC News.
“Cambodia fully supports the initiative from the U.S., particularly President Donald Trump, to end the conflict,”
— Lim Menghour, Director General of Cambodia's National Assembly
Menghour told ABC News that Prime Minister Hun Manet accepted Trump’s offer of mediation after receiving a direct call from the U.S. president. Thailand, initially resistant to third-party intervention, changed its position following the U.S. threat.
The ceasefire was brokered during face-to-face talks in Malaysia, hosted by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, with both Cambodian and Thai leaders present.
Malaysian officials called the meeting a “vital first step” toward restoring peace, as Hun Manet and Thai Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai shook hands and committed to ending hostilities.
Menghour hailed the outcome as a “positive development,” but stressed that Cambodia would not compromise on sovereignty:
“We do not let go of our sovereignty, our territorial integrity.”
The conflict erupted on Thursday near the Ta Moan Thom temple, a flashpoint in the long-disputed border region. Both countries accused each other of firing first. Thai authorities said Cambodia shelled civilian areas, while Cambodia rejected those claims and blamed Thailand for crossing into contested zones.
The violence included Thai airstrikes and artillery exchanges. Thailand closed all border crossings and launched an emergency war readiness plan.
Tensions worsened after landmines exploded along the border, injuring several Thai soldiers. A week before the main clashes, another mine left a soldier seriously wounded. Thailand accused Cambodia of planting new mines—claims Cambodia called “baseless,” arguing the mines were remnants of past conflicts.
Diplomatic ties deteriorated sharply:
Thailand expelled Cambodia’s envoy and recalled its ambassador
Cambodia downgraded diplomatic relations and evacuated its embassy staff in Bangkok
The war reignited nationalist fervor in both countries. In Thailand, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended earlier this month after a leaked phone call with Cambodia’s former Prime Minister Hun Sen, in which she appeared overly conciliatory. Critics accused her family, which has dominated Thai politics for two decades, of having business ties with Cambodian elites.
The 508-mile Thai-Cambodian border has been a source of tension for over a century. Skirmishes have erupted repeatedly, including a weeklong artillery exchange in 2011 that left multiple soldiers dead. In 2008, clashes broke out after Cambodia registered the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple as a UNESCO World Heritage Site—an area also claimed by Thailand.
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