Thailand, Cambodia Set For Talks On Conflict After Trump’s Push

Thailand and Cambodia are set to hold talks Monday to discuss an end to their deadly border clashes after US President Donald Trump warned Washington wouldn’t make a trade deal with either country while the conflict continued.

Thailand’s Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet are scheduled to meet in Malaysia at 3 p.m. local time Monday, a Thai government spokesperson said in a statement Sunday. The gathering will be at the office of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, according to the statement.

The two sides agreed to talks less than a day after Trump separately called Thai and Cambodian leaders on Saturday, and said they had agreed to “quickly work out a ceasefire.” Foreign ministers of Thailand and Cambodia were also scheduled to hold talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to coordinate the peace initiatives. 

While Cambodia has maintained that it is open to an unconditional cessation of hostilities, Thailand’s Phumtham said any ceasefire deal would be subject to conditions such as resolving the dispute bilaterally, and withdrawing troops and stopping the use of lethal weapons. 

“Everything is possible, but Cambodia’s sincerity is a pre-condition,” Nikorndej Balankura, a spokesman for Thailand’s foreign ministry, told a briefing in Bangkok on Sunday. “We’ve always said that we want a peaceful end through talks. But before that Cambodia has to demonstrate sincerity.”

Heavy artillery shelling was reported on Sunday from multiple locations across the 800-kilometer (500-mile) shared border. Both sides blamed the other for renewed aggression. The Thai army said Cambodian forces launched rockets and artillery into civilian areas including homes and hospitals in the early hours of Sunday. It also warned Phnom Penh could potentially deploy long-range missiles. 

Cambodia in turn said that Thai troops were the first to launch attacks on Sunday. Cambodia remained committed to an immediate ceasefire and to resolving all disputes through peaceful means in accordance with international law, said Maly Socheata, a spokeswoman at Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defense. 

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. 

It remains to be seen if Trump’s use of trade as a tool to end hostilities — a tactic he claims to have successfully deployed in halting India-Pakistan clashes in May — could lead to a lasting agreement. Failure to come to a trade agreement with the US will leave both Thailand and Cambodia facing 36% tariffs that are set to begin Aug. 1.

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 the $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 at least 36 civilians injured. Cambodia has so far reported 13 deaths including five soldiers, and injuries to 70 others.