Cambodia must be the first to declare a ceasefire in the ongoing border conflict, Thailand said on Tuesday (16 December), as fighting continued despite earlier claims that hostilities would stop and at least 52 people have been killed on both sides.
Thailand would only accept a credible ceasefire, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maratee Nalita Andamo said, adding that Phnom Penh must initiate it, according to the Thai public broadcaster Thai PBS.
Andamo said Thailand also expects Cambodia to cooperate in demining efforts along the border, stating that these conditions must be met before fighting can cease. Thailand has accused Cambodia of placing new landmines in the border area, a claim denied by Phnom Penh.
Cambodia, meanwhile, called on the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) to condemn Thailand’s alleged use of cluster munitions in civilian areas. In a statement issued on Tuesday, Cambodia’s Ministry of Information said it had urged the convention to uphold international humanitarian law and highlight the humanitarian consequences of such weapons.
Thailand is not a signatory to the convention. Cambodia said it had appealed to the CCM president and member states to condemn the use of cluster munitions in civilian areas and to advocate adherence to international humanitarian law by all parties.
According to the Thai daily Khaosod, two Thai soldiers were killed on Tuesday evening, bringing the total number of Thai military fatalities to 19. Cambodia’s Interior Ministry said 17 civilians had been killed and 77 others injured, according to the state-run Agence Kampuchea Presse.
Separately, a curfew imposed in Thailand’s Trat province was lifted after the situation was brought under control, Royal Thai Navy assistant spokesperson Napassakorn Tipso said, according to The Nation newspaper.
The clashes have continued despite U.S. President Donald Trump stating on Friday that the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia had agreed to halt renewed fighting.
The two countries signed a peace agreement in October in Kuala Lumpur in the presence of Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. The agreement was later suspended following a landmine explosion in a border province that seriously injured Thai soldiers.
Thai authorities said approximately 18 Cambodian soldiers remain in Thai custody. Thailand and Cambodia have a long-running border dispute that has repeatedly escalated into violence, including clashes in July in which at least 48 people were killed.
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