Trump says Thailand and Cambodia “going to be fine” after border conflict calls
US President Donald Trump says Thailand and Cambodia will be “fine” after his mediation efforts, though Bangkok insists it will not rejoin the ceasefire until Phnom Penh apologises for alleged landmine violations.
Reuters reported that U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he believed Thailand and Cambodia were “going to be fine” after he held calls with both sides to help ease renewed tensions along their shared border. His remarks came despite Thailand’s insistence on an apology from Phnom Penh before it would recommit to the ceasefire agreement.
Thailand this week suspended the U.S.-brokered ceasefire, demanding that Cambodia apologise for allegedly planting new landmines that severely injured Thai soldiers—allegations that Cambodia has denied.
Tensions over the long-disputed border escalated into five days of fighting in July, leaving at least 48 people dead and forcing around 300,000 people to flee temporarily. A ceasefire was later brokered by Trump together with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
“I spoke to the prime ministers of both countries and they’re doing great. I think they’re going to be fine,” Trump told reporters on Friday evening.
However, on Saturday, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said Bangkok would not rejoin the ceasefire unless Cambodia acknowledged its violation and issued an apology for the latest incident.
In a Facebook post following his calls with Trump and Malaysia’s Anwar, Anutin said Thailand reserved the right to take any necessary action to protect its sovereignty and ensure the safety of its people and territory from foreign threats.
He said he had asked Trump and Anwar—who has acted as a mediator—to press Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet to comply with the agreement and refrain from interfering with Thai landmine removal operations.
Hun Manet wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday that Cambodia would continue to implement the agreement and hoped both sides would keep working together under the agreed principles and mechanisms.
A White House official confirmed that Trump also held discussions with Malaysia on Friday.
Anwar later posted on X that Cambodia and Thailand were ready to “continue choosing the space for dialogue and diplomatic efforts as an effective path to resolution.”
