Thai, Cambodia Clashes Continue As Trump Threatens No Trade Deal

Thai and Cambodian forces continued clashes at their disputed border for a fourth day as US President Donald Trump heaped pressure on them to stop the conflict and said Washington won’t strike a trade deal with either side until hostilities end.

Trump spoke to the leaders of Cambodia and Thailand on Saturday, and said they agreed to “quickly work out a ceasefire,” according to posts on Truth Social. Still, heavy artillery shelling was reported on Sunday from multiple locations across the 800-kilometer (500-mile) shared border, according to local media.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said he welcomed Trump’s call for an end to the conflict and his foreign minister will speak with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to coordinate with Bangkok. Thailand’s Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said he agreed in principle to the idea of a ceasefire but needed talks and proof of “sincere intention” from Cambodia.

The clashes, which erupted on July 24 after monthslong tension along the border, has killed more than 30 people and displaced over 150,000 civilians on both sides. The Thai army accused Cambodian forces of firing at several areas including civilian homes early on Sunday. Thai troops continued to shell several areas in Cambodia through the night, Khmer Times reported.

Trump’s threat of trade as a tool to end hostilities — a tactic he claims to have successfully used in halting India-Pakistan clashes in May — is an impetus for both sides to come to an agreement. The Trump administration has threatened 36% tariffs on both Thailand and Cambodia.

We “do not want to make any Deal, with either Country, if they are fighting — And I have told them so,” Trump said on Truth Social. Both parties “are also looking to get back to the ‘Trading Table’ with the United States, which we think is inappropriate to do until such time as the fighting STOPS,” he said.

Thai officials have previously said they are nearing a deal with the US to lower the tariff with offers of greater market access to American products to narrow its $46 billion trade surplus with Washington.

The Thai government is under pressure to strike a deal before the Aug. 1 deadline, especially as neighboring Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam have secured trade agreements with the Trump administration. The US is Thailand’s largest export market with shipments valued at $63 billion last year.

Thailand has put the death toll on its side at 21 including eight soldiers, with more than 60 people injured. Cambodia has so far reported 13 deaths including five soldiers, and injuries to 70 others. The fighting has also seen more than 150,000 civilians fleeing the conflict zones on both sides.

Thailand and Cambodia have a long history of border tensions, though ties have remained mostly stable since a deadly clash in 2011 that killed dozens. The last major escalation focused on the Preah Vihear temple, a historic flashpoint rooted in disputes dating back to the French colonial period.

Much of the current dispute stems from maps drawn on differing interpretations of early 20th-century Franco-Siamese treaties, which defined the border between Thailand and Cambodia, then part of French Indochina.

Fighting erupted last week after Thailand expelled Cambodia’s ambassador and recalled its own envoy from Phnom Penh in response to landmine explosions that maimed at least two Thai soldiers and injured several others. The clashes have involved fighter jets, rocket launchers and heavy artillery with Thailand using its navy to repel Cambodian attacks near the Gulf of Thailand.