Thailand to continue military action against Cambodia, rejects Trump’s ceasefire claim

BANGKOK(Thailand): Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has stated that military operations against Cambodia will continue, contradicting an earlier claim by United States President Donald Trump that a ceasefire had been reached between the two neighbouring countries.

In a Facebook post on Saturday morning, Anutin stated that Thailand would persist with military action until threats to its territory and citizens end.

“Thailand will continue to perform military actions until we feel no more harm and threats to our land and people. I want to make it clear. Our actions this morning already spoke,” he said.

The statement followed fresh accusations from Cambodia that Thai forces were continuing aerial and ground attacks despite Trump’s announcement that Bangkok and Phnom Penh had agreed to halt hostilities, Al Jazeera reported.

Cambodian authorities alleged that strikes continued hours after the ceasefire claim.

According to a social media post by Cambodia’s Ministry of Defence, “On December 13, 2025, the Thai military used two F-16 fighter jets to drop seven bombs” on multiple targets inside Cambodian territory.

The ministry further said, “Thai forces have not stopped the bombing yet and are still continuing the bombing,” listing attacks on villages and settlements up to 8am local time on Saturday, Al Jazeera reported.

Local outlet The Khmer Times, citing Cambodia’s Ministry of Information, said two hotels in the Thmor Da area of Pursat province near the Thai border were hit.

Photographs published by the outlet showed severely damaged hotel and casino buildings.

In a separate incident, the Thai navy was reported to have fired artillery shells from a naval vessel into Cambodia’s Koh Kong province, striking hotels and beach areas, according to Al Jazeera.

Cambodian authorities have not reported any casualties from the latest incidents.

However, the fighting marks the sixth straight day of clashes between the Southeast Asian neighbours after a peace agreement brokered by Trump in October collapsed earlier this week. At least 20 people have been killed across both countries, with nearly 200 injured since then.

An estimated 600,000 people have been displaced on either side of the 800-kilometre-long Thailand-Cambodia border, where the dispute centres on ownership of centuries-old temples, Al Jazeera reported.

The renewed escalation comes despite Trump posting on social media late Friday that he had secured an agreement between the two sides “to cease all shooting”.

In his Truth Social post, Trump said, “I had a very good conversation this morning with the Prime Minister of Thailand, Anutin Charnvirakul, and the Prime Minister of Cambodia, Hun Manet, concerning the very unfortunate reawakening of their long-running War.”

“They have agreed to CEASE all shooting effective this evening, and go back to the original Peace Accord made with me, and them, with the help of the Great Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim,” Trump added.

He also claimed that a roadside bomb that had “killed and wounded numerous Thai soldiers was an accident”.

Anutin rejected that assertion in a separate Facebook post, saying it was “definitely not a roadside accident”. (ANI)