The leaders of Cambodia and Thailand announced a ceasefire on Monday, effective at midnight, aiming to conclude their deadliest conflict in over a decade after five days of intense fighting.
Amid concerted international efforts to de-escalate the conflict, Thai and Cambodian leaders convened talks in Malaysia, hosted by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the current chair of the ASEAN regional bloc. Both sides agreed to cease hostilities and re-establish direct communication channels.
Opening a joint press conference with the Thai and Cambodian leaders, Anwar declared, “There will be an immediate and unconditional ceasefire with effect from midnight tonight. This is final.”
The Southeast Asian neighbors had accused each other of initiating the hostilities last week, which then escalated with heavy artillery bombardments and Thai airstrikes along their 817-kilometer (508-mile) land border.
Anwar had proposed ceasefire discussions shortly after a long-standing border dispute erupted into conflict on Thursday. Both China and the United States also offered their assistance in facilitating negotiations.
US President Donald Trump had telephoned both leaders over the weekend, urging them to resolve their differences and warning that he would withhold trade deals if they did not halt the fighting.
Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia have intensified since the killing of a Cambodian soldier during a brief skirmish in late May.
Both nations subsequently reinforced their border troops amidst a full-blown diplomatic crisis that pushed Thailand’s precarious coalition government to the brink of collapse.
“Today we have had a very good meeting and very good results… that hope to immediately stop the fighting that has caused many lives lost, injuries, and also caused displacement of people,” said Hun Manet, expressing gratitude to Trump and China for their participation in the process.
“We hope that the solutions that Prime Minister Anwar just announced will establish a condition for moving forward with our bilateral discussions to return our relationship to normalcy, and serve as a foundation for the future de-escalation of forces.”
Acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, who had previously voiced skepticism about Cambodia’s sincerity before the negotiations in Malaysia, stated that Thailand had agreed to a ceasefire that would “be carried out successfully in good faith by both sides.”
