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UPDATES:
3:22 pm: The Post and Telecommunications Ministry and Information Ministry issued a joint statement calling an end to the dissemination and sharing of content on social media originating from Thailand or without clear sources.
It said this includes comments, shares or reactions on articles, photos, videos or other forms of contents on social media which are from Thailand or unclear sources (fake news), as it is construed an active contribution to the dissemination of Thai contents.
3:12 pm: Thai forces fired one shell into a densely populated residential area in Stoeung Bot village at 2:07 pm in Poipet city’s Phsar Kandal commune, according to the National Defense Ministry spokesperson.
2:30 pm: In an announcement with the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy, U.S President Donald Trump said that Thailand is “starting to shape up” the border conflicts with Cambodia.
“They started up again. But I think Marco [U.S State Secretary], we have that in pretty good shape to have that stopped,” he said, responding to a question by journalists.
“We stopped eight wars. And I thought this would be in the middle of the pack, but maybe easy […] there’s a lot of hatred between those two people,” Trump said.
2:20 pm: National Defense Minister Tea Seiha confirmed that he will attend the GBC meeting on December 24 as co-chair, reaffirming Cambodia’s commitment to address the border conflict and seek a peaceful resolution, state media reported on Tuesday.
According to AKP, Cambodia requested that the GBC meeting focus on key issues, such as the immediate cessation of all forms of hostilities, and full implementation of the July 28 ceasefire agreement and Kuala Lumpur Joint Declaration signed on October 26.
Cambodia will also highlight the safe and dignified return of displaced people to their homes without hindrance, peaceful resolution as agreed in the joint declaration, and an immediate reactivation of existing mechanisms within this framework, including border demarcation and humanitarian demining cooperation.
Cambodian authorities said that the Thai military continued to attack the fourth and fifth military regions in Oddar Meanchey, Preah Vihear, Battambang and Banteay Meanchey, hitting civilian residential areas despite the special ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ meeting discussing the “resumption” of ceasefire and cessation of hostilities.
Multiple shells were fired along the border in Banteay Meanchey’s residential areas on Tuesday, according to National Defense Ministry spokesperson Maly Socheata at a press briefing.
“From 10:38 am to 10:40 am, the Thai military fired three shells into the civilian residential area in Kon Damrei, Nimitt commune in Poipet municipality,” Socheata said.
As of Tuesday, the civilian death toll in Cambodia has risen to 21 with 83 injuries, while the total number of displaced people stands over half a million.
The General Boundary Committee (GBC) meeting will be held on Wednesday following the outcome of the foreign ministers’ meeting on Monday. Cambodian officials have yet to disclose the venue of the GBC meeting. Thai media stated that the meeting is scheduled in Chanthaburi, Thailand.
Analysts Em Sovannara said ASEAN’s mechanism cannot end violence with regard to the Cambodia–Thailand border conflict due to its difficulty in resolving internal member affairs and is fundamentally linked to its adherence to the “ASEAN Way”, which prioritizes non-interference and consensus-based decision-making.
“The war between Cambodia and Thailand cannot be ended soon because Thailand intends to continue, having gained military, economic, and international diplomatic advantages,” he said.
China has offered to mediate the Cambodia–Thailand border conflict, Sovannara said, but without concrete action such efforts would be ineffective. The United States, he added, has taken “no concrete steps, issuing only appeals”, while Thailand maintains strong military and economic alliances with Washington.
Cambodia, by contrast, does not have a comparable alliance with the U.S. and has only engaged closely with the U.S since the conflict began.
He said Cambodia can resolve the dispute only through international mechanisms, including the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and by upholding the Paris Peace Agreements.
Lam Chea, minister in charge of the State Secretariat of Border Affairs, and Foreign Ministry spokesperson Chum Sounry could not be reached for comment.
Defense ministry’s Socheata and government spokesperson Pen Bona could not be reached for comment.
