Thailand-Combodia Conflict Escalates: Donald Trump Vows In Renewed Tensions

Fighting between Thailand and Cambodia entered a third straight day, with both sides trading blame, heavy shelling and evacuations, while United States President Donald Trump said he would again intervene by phone after earlier brokering a ceasefire between the neighbours in July.

Officials in Bangkok and Phnom Penh reported hundreds of thousands moved from border regions, and rising deaths and injuries. Thai commanders said they sought to limit Cambodia's ability to strike, while Cambodian authorities accused Thai forces of hitting homes and other civilian areas with artillery.

Thailand and Cambodia conflict: Trump's renewed role

Speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Trump listed conflicts he said he helped cool, naming tensions between Pakistan and India, and between Israel and Iran, before turning to Southeast Asia and the new fighting between Thailand and Cambodia.

Trump told supporters: "I hate to say this one, named Cambodia-Thailand, and it started up today and tomorrow I am going to have to make a phone call. Who else could say I'm going to make a phone call and stop a war of two very powerful countries, Thailand and Cambodia."

Thailand and Cambodia conflict: stalled talks and mediation

Thailand's foreign minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said in an interview on Tuesday that conditions were not suitable for negotiations in the border dispute and argued that third-party mediation would also not work, even though Trump had previously been central to diplomacy.

A senior adviser to Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet told Reuters that Phnom Penh held an opposite view and was "ready to talk at any time." That stance contrasted with Thailand's resistance, especially over any pressure linked to trade or tariffs.

Thailand and Cambodia conflict: ceasefire history and trade pressure

The latest clashes followed five days of heavy fighting in July, when at least 48 people were killed, prompting Trump to step in and use ongoing trade talks as leverage to secure a ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia after intense cross-border battles.

Sihasak Phuangketkeow told Reuters he did not believe tariff threats should be used to push Thailand into dialogue, even though Trump had drawn on the United States' trade relationship when helping arrange the earlier truce between the two countries in July.

Thailand and Cambodia conflict: casualties and evacuations

Tension increased after Thailand suspended de-escalation steps last month that both sides had approved at an October summit attended by Trump, following a Thai soldier being maimed by a landmine that Bangkok said Cambodia had newly planted, an accusation Phnom Penh denied.

Both governments said hundreds of thousands were evacuated from border districts. By Tuesday night, Cambodia's Defence Ministry reported nine civilians killed since Monday and 20 seriously hurt, while Thai officials said four soldiers were killed and 68 wounded in the latest round of hostilities. Key battlefield figures in the Thailand and Cambodia conflict are summarised below, based on official statements from both sides as of Tuesday night.