Thailand and Cambodia agree to ‘immediate’ ceasefire in joint statement

The Ban Pakkad border checkpoint between Thailand and Cambodia, near where the ceasefire talks have been taking place, in Pailin Province, Cambodia on December 27. Photo / Getty Images

Thailand and Cambodia agreed to an “immediate” ceasefire on Saturday, the two countries said in a joint statement, pledging to end weeks of deadly border clashes.

At least 47 people were killed and more than a million displaced in three weeks of fighting with artillery, tanks, drones and jets, according to official tallies.

The conflict spread to nearly every border province on both sides, shattering an earlier truce for which US President Donald Trump took credit.

“Both sides agree to an immediate ceasefire after the time of signature of this Joint Statement with effect from 12pm (local time) on December 27, 2025,” said the statement signed by the two countries’ defence ministers.

The truce applies to “all types of weapons, including attacks on civilians, civilian objects and infrastructures, and military objectives of either side, in all cases and all areas”, it said.

Both sides agree to freeze all troop movements and allow civilians living in border areas to return home as soon as possible, the statement added.

They also agree to co-operate on demining efforts and combating cybercrime.

The ceasefire comes after three days of border talks announced following a crisis meeting of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), of which both Cambodia and Thailand are members.

The United States, China and Malaysia also pushed for the neighbours to cease fighting.

‘Final signing’

The conflict stems from a territorial dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of their 800km border, where ancient temples are claimed by both sides.

Five days of fighting between Cambodia and Thailand in July killed dozens of people before a truce was brokered by the United States, China and Malaysia, and then broken within months.

Each side blamed the other for instigating the fresh fighting this month and traded accusations of attacks on civilians.

At least 25 Thai soldiers and one Thai civilian were killed in the latest round of clashes, officials said.

Cambodia, which is outgunned and outspent by Bangkok’s military, said 21 civilians were killed but reported no military deaths – even as the wife of its leader Hun Manet attended a funeral of troops killed in the fighting, according to an official Facebook post.

The fighting was still raging on Friday, with Cambodia accusing Thailand of intensifying its bombardment of disputed border areas and Thai media reporting overnight Cambodian attacks.

The contested temples are claimed by both nations because of a vague demarcation made by Cambodia’s French colonial administrators in 1907.

Those demarcations will still need to be resolved following the ceasefire.

But Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul sounded an upbeat note on Friday night, announcing that the two countries’ defence ministers would meet the following day and potentially sign a truce.

“You can trust Thailand. We always uphold our agreements and commitments. Let this be the final signing, so that peace can be restored and our people can return home,” he said.

General elections are scheduled to take place in Thailand on February 8.

– Agence France-Presse