Trump Vows to Step in Amid Thailand–Cambodia Clash

“It started up today. Tomorrow I have to make a phone call … I’m going to make a phone call and stop a war,” Trump said during a rally in Pennsylvania on Tuesday.

Over the weekend and into Tuesday, hostilities intensified along the Thailand-Cambodia border, with both sides accusing each other of violating the existing ceasefire agreement.

Monday’s confrontations marked the fiercest fighting since a five-day exchange of rockets and artillery in July, which left at least 48 people dead and displaced more than 300,000 before Trump brokered a temporary ceasefire.

Earlier this year, another trilateral meeting hosted by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim resulted in an unconditional ceasefire agreement, though it has since unraveled under mounting tensions.

Violence surged again after Thailand suspended a peace pact last month, claiming a landmine explosion in Si Sa Ket province that injured four Thai soldiers. The decision triggered a spike in troop deployments and accusations of ceasefire violations.

On Tuesday, the Thai Navy said it had launched operations to expel Cambodian forces allegedly detected inside Thai territory in the coastal province of Trat. It accused Cambodian units of expanding their presence along the frontier, deploying snipers and heavy weapons, fortifying positions, and digging trenches, moves it described as “a direct and serious threat to Thailand’s sovereignty.”

Phnom Penh rejected the accusation, insisting that its forces had not crossed into Thai territory and had refrained from retaliating despite sustaining heavy attacks.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet condemned what he called Thai attempts to “use military force to attack civilian villages under the pretext of reclaiming its sovereignty.”

Cambodia’s Defense Ministry confirmed two additional civilian deaths overnight, raising its total number of fatalities to six. Thailand has reported one soldier killed so far.