---
title: "Thai, Cambodian leaders agree to ceasefire after five days of battle"
description: "PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia, July 28 (Reuters) - The leaders of Cambodia and Thailand agreed to a ceasefire on Monday effective midnight, in a bid to bring an end to their deadliest conflict in more than a decade after five days of fierce fighting."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-07-28-thai-cambodian-leaders-agree-to-ceasefire-after-five-days-of-battle/"
published: "2025-07-28T13:00:42"
updated: "2025-07-28T13:00:43"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 406
---

# Thai, Cambodian leaders agree to ceasefire after five days of battle

> PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia, July 28 (Reuters) - The leaders of Cambodia and Thailand agreed to a ceasefire on Monday effective midnight, in a bid to bring an end to their deadliest conflict in more than a decade after five days of fierce fighting.

By Reuters · Published 28 July 2025, 15:00 SAST · Updated 28 July 2025, 15:00 SAST

## Key points
- In a diplomatic game of chicken that nearly turned into a full-blown border brawl, Thai and Cambodian leaders have agreed to an "immediate and unconditional" ceasefire, proving that sometimes all it takes to stop the artillery is a little ASEAN charm and a stern phone call from Trump.
- Thai and Cambodian leaders agree to an immediate ceasefire after talks in Malaysia, facilitated by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
- Both nations accuse each other of instigating recent border clashes, escalating tensions along their 817-km land border.
- U.S. President Trump intervenes, urging both sides to resolve their differences, linking trade agreements to the cessation of hostilities.
- Leaders express hope that the ceasefire will pave the way for improved bilateral relations and future de-escalation of military forces.

## Content

By Danial Azhar and Huey Mun Leong

Amid an international effort to quell the conflict, the Thai and Cambodian leaders held talks in Malaysia hosted by its Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the current chair of the ASEAN regional bloc, where both sides agreed to halt hostilities and resume direct communications.

Anwar said when opening a press conference alongside the Thai and Cambodian leaders that there would be "an immediate and unconditional ceasefire with effect from midnight tonight. This is final."

The Southeast Asian neighbours accuse each other of starting the fighting last week, before escalating it with heavy artillery bombardment and Thai air strikes along their 817-km (508-mile) land border.

Anwar had proposed ceasefire talks soon after a long-running border dispute [erupted into conflict](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3TL02C&linkedFromStory=true) on Thursday, and China and the United States also offered to assist in negotiations.

U.S. President Donald Trump called both leaders at the weekend urging them to [settle their differences](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AS0N3TD00C&linkedFromStory=true), warning he would not conclude trade deals with them unless they ended the fighting.

The tension between [Thailand and Cambodia](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL3N3S80T1&linkedFromStory=true) has intensified since the killing of a Cambodian soldier during a brief skirmish late in May.

Both sides reinforced border troops amid a full-blown diplomatic crisis that brought Thailand's fragile coalition government to the brink of collapse.

"Today we have a very good meeting and very good results... that hope to stop immediately the fighting that has caused many lives lost, injuries and also caused displacement of people," Hun Manet said, expressing appreciation to Trump and to China for its efforts in participating in the process.

"We hope that the solutions that Prime Minister Anwar just announced will set a condition for moving forward for our bilateral discussion to return to normalcy of the relationship, and as a foundation for future de-escalation of forces."

Acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, who had earlier expressed doubts about Cambodia's sincerity ahead of the negotiations in Malaysia, said Thailand had agreed to ceasefire that would "be carried out successfully in good faith by both sides".

Thailand and Cambodia militaries clash along their border [https://www.reuters.com/graphics/THAILAND-CAMBODIA/zjpqoyezmpx/chart.png](https://www.reuters.com/graphics/THAILAND-CAMBODIA/zjpqoyezmpx/chart.png)

Comparison of militaries of Thailand and Cambodia: Comparison of militaries of Thailand and Cambodia [https://reut.rs/3H3XUh4](https://reut.rs/3H3XUh4)

(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat, Chayut Setboonsarng, Panu Wongcha-um, and Devjyot Ghoshal in Bangkok, Shoon Naing in Sisaket, Chantha Lach in Phnom Penh, Danial Azhar and Mandy Leong in Putrajaya and Kanishka Singh in Washington; Writing by John Mair and Martin Petty; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)