Thailand and Cambodia Agree to Halt Fighting
- The New York Times
- Jul 27
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 28
U.S.-backed talks to end the border war, in which militaries have killed dozens of people and displaced hundreds of thousands, began on Monday in Malaysia.
The New York Times
July 28, 2025
By Sui-Lee Wee and Edward Wong
Thailand and Cambodia agreed to a cease-fire starting at midnight on Monday, the leaders of both countries said, after the deadliest conflict between their nations in more than a decade killed at least 38 people and displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians.
Thailand’s acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, and Cambodia’s prime minister, Hun Manet, shook hands with each other after holding talks in person for the first time since the fighting broke out five days ago along the countries’ disputed border. Since last Thursday, both countries have pounded each other with attacks, which at times included airstrikes and rockets fired.
Reported sites of attacks and fighting since Thursday
But even on the morning of the talks, the fighting had continued, with sounds of explosions heard near the border. Things appeared to quiet down only in the afternoon as the Thai and Cambodian leaders sat down in Putrajaya, a city about a half-hour drive from Malaysia’s capital.
In the Thai province of Surin, Siriwut Wongcharoen, 59, a local official, who spoke by phone from a bunker in a temple where he was sheltering, said he was skeptical that the fighting would stop. He said he was still hearing gunshots as of Monday evening.
“I’m not leaving this bunker yet, as I don’t feel confident enough,” Mr. Siriwut said. “I will wait for another one to two days.”
The talks in Putrajaya were organized by Malaysian and American officials, at the official residence of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia. Edgard D. Kagan, the U.S. ambassador to Malaysia, was the top American diplomat in the meeting.
Mr. Anwar announced several steps aimed at easing tensions, including an informal meeting between military commanders from Thailand and Cambodia, at 7 a.m. on Tuesday. If both sides agree, the talks would be followed by two additional sessions: one involving military attachés, led by Malaysia, and another set for Aug. 4, to be hosted by Cambodia.
Chinese diplomats attended as observers, according to Malaysian officials. The United States and China, both of which have strategic and economic interests in Thailand and Cambodia, have ratcheted up pressure on the Southeast Asian nations to halt the fighting.
On Saturday, President Trump said he had spoken to both leaders and that U.S. officials would not negotiate trade deals with either country unless the fighting stopped. The clashes continued through Sunday and early Monday.
After the deal was announced, Mr. Trump said he spoke with both Mr. Phumtham and Mr. Hun Manet, and instructed his trade team to restart negotiations.
“I have now ended many Wars in just six months — I am proud to be the president of PEACE!” Mr. Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Mr. Trump’s threat may have been the reason Bangkok ultimately accepted mediation rather than direct talks with Cambodia, which it had earlier demanded, said Matthew Wheeler, senior analyst for Southeast Asia at the International Crisis Group. Mr. Trump recently set a new deadline of Aug. 1 for 12 nations, including Thailand and Cambodia, to reach trade deals with the American government, saying he would otherwise impose tariffs of 36 percent on U.S. businesses that import their goods.
The Thai “government has been losing popularity because it has failed to revive the economy,” Mr. Wheeler said. “A deal to avoid the U.S. tariffs is by no means certain, but the Thai government needed to give itself every opportunity.”
It was unclear if Monday’s agreement would lead to a genuine truce; there were no public announcements about how the cease-fire would be enforced as well as who would verify if it was being upheld. And nationalist feelings are still running high on both sides.
Cambodia said last week that it had agreed to a cease-fire brokered by Malaysia but accused Thailand of reneging on the deal. Thailand responded by saying that any cease-fire had to be based on “appropriate, on the ground conditions,” and that Cambodia’s continued attacks showed a lack of good faith.
As of Monday, the death toll exceeded that from the last outbreak of deadly battles between the two countries, from 2008 to 2011, in which 34 people were killed, according to an academic paper. This latest round of clashes erupted after two months of tension over contested territory.
Both sides continued to accuse the other of carrying out attacks. In a late-morning news conference, Lt. Gen. Maly Socheata, a spokeswoman for Cambodia’s defense ministry, said Thai forces had fired at two ancient temples that are claimed by both Thailand and Cambodia, starting at 3 a.m.
She said that Thailand had deployed planes to fire rockets and was “still aggressively attacking” Cambodia. Thailand’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ly Nam, 38, a farmer in Oddar Meanchey Province in Cambodia, lives about 25 miles from where the fighting has been taking place. He said there had been constant booms and thuds since early Monday and was desperate for cease-fire.
“It is two or three times more severe than yesterday,” he said, adding that he had not left the area because he needed to take care of his house and his 10 pigs.
“Now I am hiding in a trench,” Mr. Ly Nam said. “We are in misery. We don’t have enough food to eat.”
Some Cambodians have fled to the homes of family members and friends in Siem Reap, the site of the ancient Angkor Wat temple complex. Siem Reap has been untouched by the violence, but at Hindu and Buddhist shrines around Angkor Wat, people have held ceremonies to pray for a quick resolution to the war.
On Sunday, after Mr. Trump announced his diplomatic intervention, residents began talking in hopeful terms of an American role in prodding the warring governments toward a cease-fire.
The State Department said on Sunday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had spoken with the top diplomats of both Thailand and Cambodia.
“The United States applauds the ceasefire declaration between Cambodia and Thailand announced today in Kuala Lumpur,” Mr. Rubio said in a statement on Monday. “President Trump and I are committed to an immediate cessation of violence and expect the governments of Cambodia and Thailand to fully honor their commitments to end this conflict.”
Some analysts see diplomacy around the war as partly a test of American and Chinese influence in Southeast Asia, where Washington and Beijing are competing for dominance in military, economic and diplomatic spheres.
Thailand is a U.S. treaty ally and hosts dozens of military exercises with the United States; China is the largest trading partner of both Thailand and Cambodia, which hosts a naval base largely funded by Beijing. Nations in the region prefer to balance relations with both superpowers rather than be compelled to choose one side.
