Thailand leader has pledged to continue military operations along the disputed border with Cambodia, even as fighter jets conducted strikes on Saturday—hours after former U.S. President Donald Trump said he had arranged a ceasefire.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul wrote on Facebook that Thailand would “continue military actions until we feel no more harm and threats to our land and people.”
Trump, who had previously brokered a ceasefire in the long-running border conflict in October, said he spoke with Anutin and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet on Friday. According to Trump, both leaders agreed to “cease all shooting.” However, neither Anutin nor Hun Manet mentioned any such agreement in their public statements, and the Thai leader firmly rejected it.
“I want to make it clear. Our actions this morning already spoke,” Anutin said, denying that a ceasefire was in place. The White House has not commented on the continued clashes.
Escalating Border Clashes
Hun Manet said in a Facebook statement that Cambodia remained committed to pursuing peace in line with the October accord. Still, fighting has escalated sharply. Since Monday, Thailand and Cambodia have exchanged heavy weapons fire at several points along their 817 km (508-mile) shared border. This marks the most intense violence since the five-day clash in July—an episode Trump claimed credit for stopping.
Trump has repeatedly highlighted his role in conflict mediation, saying he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. He has tried to restore the truce after Thailand suspended it last month following the maiming of a Thai soldier by what Bangkok claims was a newly laid Cambodian landmine. Cambodia denies the accusation and had even nominated Trump for the peace prize in August.
Both Sides Trade Accusations
Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, a spokesman for Thailand’s Defence Ministry, said Saturday that clashes had broken out across seven border provinces and that Cambodian forces had used heavy weapons, prompting Thai retaliation. Meanwhile, Cambodia’s Information Ministry accused Thailand of striking bridges and buildings overnight and firing artillery from a naval vessel.
Anutin dismissed Trump’s comment that a “roadside bomb” injuring Thai soldiers was accidental, insisting the explosion was “definitely not” an accident.
Hun Manet said he had asked the U.S. and Malaysia—both involved in mediation efforts—to use intelligence capabilities to determine “which side fired first” in the latest round of violence.