Trump urges Thailand and Cambodia to honour ceasefire commitments

A White House spokeswoman said on Saturday that US President Donald Trump expects all sides to fully honour the commitments made under the agreements they have signed, and that he would hold anyone accountable as necessary to stop the killing and secure a lasting peace.

Renewed attention from Washington followed Thailand’s leader vowing to keep fighting on the disputed Cambodian border, as fighter jets struck targets hours after Trump said he had brokered a fresh ceasefire, Reuters reported.

Caretaker Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said Thailand would “continue to perform military actions until we feel no more harm and threats to our land and people”. 

Trump, who helped broker a ceasefire in the long-running border dispute in October, said he spoke by phone on Friday with Anutin and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and that both had agreed to “cease all shooting”.

Neither side referred to any such agreement in their statements after the calls, and Anutin said there was no ceasefire. “I want to make it clear. Our actions this morning already spoke,” he wrote on Facebook.

Hun Manet said on Saturday that he welcomed a proposal by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim — who has been involved in mediation efforts — to halt hostilities from Saturday evening. 

Anwar, the chair of the 10-nation ASEAN grouping, urged both sides in a Facebook post to refrain from any further military action, including the use of force or forward movement of armed units. 

He said an ASEAN observer team led by Malaysia’s chief of defence forces would be deployed to the border, and that the US government would provide satellite monitoring capabilities.

Anutin, however, told reporters “there has been no agreement on halting anything” when asked about Malaysia’s proposal. 

Thailand’s foreign minister said at a press conference that Bangkok would cooperate with the observer team, but insisted any ceasefire must be preceded by talks. “We can’t just announce a ceasefire while the fighting is going on,” he said.

Cambodia and Thailand have exchanged heavy-weapons fire at multiple points along their 817-kilometre (508-mile) border since Monday, in some of the most intense fighting since a five-day clash in July. Trump said he halted that earlier round with calls to both leaders, and has signalled he is keen to step in again to salvage the truce.

Thailand suspended the ceasefire last month after a Thai soldier was maimed by a landmine — one of many that Bangkok says were newly laid by Cambodia.