Thailand denies Trump ceasefire claim as clashes with Cambodia continue at border

Thailand’s caretaker prime minister has denied the existence of a ceasefire with Cambodia, despite Donald Trump announcing that both countries had agreed to halt fighting.

As heavy clashes continued along the border between the two countries, Anutin Charnvirakul said on Saturday that Thailand had not agreed to a ceasefire with Cambodia and that its forces would continue fighting. Cambodia announced it had suspended all border crossings with Thailand.

Thai forces carried out strikes, including with fighter jets, while Cambodia fired rocket barrages along the border area on Saturday. The Thai army announced that at least two civilians had been seriously injured by Cambodian fire while running to a bunker.

The latest round of fighting was triggered by a clash on 7 December that wounded two Thai soldiers and appeared to violate an earlier ceasefire promoted by Trump that ended similar fighting in July. More than two dozen people have reportedly been killed over the past week while more than half a million have been displaced on both sides of the border.

The Thai military said that 15 of its soldiers had died, and estimated that 165 Cambodian military personnel had been killed. Cambodia did not announce any military losses, but said at least 11 civilians had been killed and more than six dozen wounded.

Trump’s ceasefire announcement on Friday was met with a tepid reaction by leaders from both countries.

Thailand’s foreign minister, Sihasak Phuangketkeow, said Trump’s remarks did not 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.

Cambodia has not commented on Trump’s announcement.

Trump announced the agreement to restart the July ceasefire in a social media post after calls with Anutin and the Cambodian prime minister, Hun Manet.

“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,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform on Friday.

But neither the Thai nor the Cambodian leaders referenced the agreement in statements issued after the call, and Anutin said there was no ceasefire and that peace would depend on Cambodia ending its attacks first. When asked about Trump’s claim, Thailand’s foreign ministry referred reporters to his statement.

In a statement on Saturday on Facebook, Manet did not mention the ceasefire, but instead referred to the call with Trump and said Cambodia continued to seek a peaceful resolution in line with an earlier agreement signed in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, in October.

Manet also said he had advised the US and Malaysia to use their intelligence gathering capabilities to “verify which side fired first” in the latest round of fighting.

Anutin said Thai forces had retaliated against Cambodian military targets.

“Thailand will continue to perform military actions until we feel no more harm and threats to our land and people,” he said in a Facebook post.

The original ceasefire in July was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through after pressure from Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. It was formalised in more detail at the October regional meeting in Malaysia that Trump attended.

The Malaysian prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, urged both countries to once again cease hostilities on Saturday. Cambodia’s prime minister endorsed the Malaysian proposal, which included having Malaysia and the US monitor the ceasefire. Anutin, however, denied that Thailand had even entered into negotiations over the plan.

Despite the deal, the two countries carried on a bitter propaganda war and minor cross-border violence continued.

The roots of the Thai-Cambodian border conflict lie in a history of enmity over competing territorial claims. These claims largely stem from a 1907 map created while Cambodia was under French colonial rule, which Thailand maintains is inaccurate. Tensions were aggravated by a 1962 international court of justice ruling that awarded sovereignty to Cambodia, which still riles many Thais.

Thailand has used jet fighters to carry out airstrikes on what it says are military targets. Cambodia has deployed BM-21 rocket launchers with a range of 30-40km (19-25 miles). The rockets are imprecise have a wide area of impact, with most landing in areas that have already been evacuated.

According to data collected by public broadcaster ThaiPBS, at least six of the Thai soldiers killed were hit by rocket shrapnel.

The Thai army’s north-eastern regional command said on Thursday that some residential areas and homes near the border had been damaged by BM-21 rockets.

It also said it had destroyed a tall crane on a hilltop held by Cambodia where the ancient Preah Vihear temple is located, because it allegedly held electronic and optical devices used for military command and control purposes.

A Thai warship also shelled the south-western Cambodian province of Koh Kong on Saturday.

[Source: The Guardian]