At Trump’s urging, Thailand and Cambodia to meet for ceasefire talks

People displaced by the fighting take shelter at Surindra Rajabhat University in Nok Mueang, in Thailand’s Surin Province, on Thursday, July 24, 2025. A monthslong standoff between Cambodia and Thailand turned into a deadly exchange of fire along their contested border on Thursday has killed at least 34 people. (Sui-Lee Wee/The New York Times)

By Sui-Lee Wee

The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia are scheduled to arrive in Malaysia on Monday to discuss a possible ceasefire, an effort started by President Donald Trump amid a mounting flurry of diplomatic exchanges to halt a deadly border conflict that has entered its fourth day.

Cambodian Prime Pinister Hun Manet said Sunday that he would lead a delegation to attend the meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital, in which China would also participate. He will meet with Thailand’s acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, and other officials, said Jirayu Houngsub, a Thai government spokesperson. The meeting is set for 3 p.m. Malaysian time.

“The purpose of this meeting is to achieve an immediate ceasefire, which was initiated by President Donald Trump and agreed to by both prime ministers of Cambodia and Thailand,” Hun Manet said in a statement on social media.

Some analysts see this dispute as a test of U.S. and Chinese influence in Southeast Asia, where Washington and Beijing are competing for dominance. Thailand is a U.S. treaty ally and hosts dozens of military exercises with the United States; China is the largest trading partner of Thailand and Cambodia, which hosts a naval base largely funded by Beijing. Instability in the two Southeast Asian nations could jeopardize the strategic and economic interests of the two world powers.

On Saturday, Trump said, he called Hun Manet and Phumtham, adding that they had agreed to work out a ceasefire to the conflict, which has killed at least 34 people. On Sunday, the State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had spoken by phone with his counterparts in Thailand and Cambodia, urging them to lower tensions immediately and agree to an end to the conflict.

But sporadic skirmishes flared between Thai and Cambodian troops along the two countries’ disputed border early Sunday, underscoring the challenge of resolving an increasingly bitter and long-running conflict, one of the deadliest ever between the two Southeast Asian neighbors. Analysts said that both countries could also be seeking to grab territory before an agreement was signed.

Rubio said he had told Cambodia’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Prak Sokhonn, and Thailand’s foreign minister, Maris Sangiampongsa, about Trump’s desire for peace. On Saturday, Trump said he would not negotiate trade deals with Cambodia and Thailand until they stopped the fighting.

On Sunday, Phumtham said he had told Trump that Thailand had agreed in principle to a ceasefire and had asked Trump to inform Cambodia that talks should take place as soon as possible. He added that he would “like to see sincere intention from the Cambodian side.”

But the deputy spokesperson of the Thai army, Col. Richa Suksuwanont, drew a distinction between Trump’s conversation with the Thai leader and what was happening on the ground.

“The troops in the battlefield are still following battle strategies,” he said in a statement. “Thailand confirms that the ceasefire will happen only when Cambodia reaches out to us themselves for negotiation.”

The conflict flared after two months of tension over contested territory. In the last outbreak of deadly battles between the countries, from 2008-11, 34 people were killed, according to an academic paper. This year, that death toll was reached in less than a week.

Hun Manet said he hoped Thailand would not go back on its ceasefire vow. He added that the Thais had violated a similar promise made after Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim negotiated with both sides on Thursday. Malaysia is the chair of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, to which Cambodia and Thailand also belong.

Thai and Cambodian forces exchanged fire Sunday along the border, near the site of a temple, claimed by both countries, known as Prasat Ta Khwai to the Thais and Prasat Ta Krabey to the Cambodians. The deputy Thai rmy spokesperson, Richa, said the first shots were fired by Cambodia into Thai territory in several areas, including into civilian homes, early Sunday.

Lt. Gen. Maly Socheata, a spokesperson for the Cambodian Defense Ministry, said Cambodia “categorically rejects and condemns in the strongest terms the baseless and irresponsible accusation by Thailand that Cambodia initiated hostilities.”

She said Thailand’s forces started shelling Cambodian territory at 2 a.m. and expanded their operations to Prasat Ta Krabey and near another ancient temple also claimed by both countries, called Prasat Ta Moan Thom by the Cambodians and Prasat Ta Muen Thom by the Thais. The site is where violence first erupted Thursday.

At 6 a.m., Thailand sent in tanks and troops to “invade” in multiple areas, according to Maly Socheata.

“Such actions undermine all efforts toward peaceful resolution and expose Thailand’s clear intent to escalate rather than de-escalate the conflict,” Maly Socheata said.