As their border dispute entered the fifth day, Thailand and Cambodia met in Malaysia and agreed for an immediate and an unconditional ceasefire, which will come into effect from midnight. This marks a significant step towards de-escalation and the peace restoration by the two Southeast Asian neighbours.
Thailand and Cambodia’s key meeting in Malaysia was aimed at resolving their border clash which began on July 24. Thai acting PM Wechayachai led Bangkok’s delegation while from Cambodia, PM Hun Manet attended the mediation talks.
Apart from the prime ministers of both the countries, the ambassadors to Malaysia of the United States and China also attended the meeting, held in Malaysia’s administrative capital of Putrajaya at the residence of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the chair of the regional bloc ASEAN.
What happened at Thailand and Cambodia’s meeting in Malaysia?
Agreeing to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, Cambodian PM Hun Manet shared that around 300,000 people had been displaced from both sides as a result of the 5 days of fighting. He also thanked Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim for hosting and brokering the peace talks.
Malaysian PM Anwar said they stands ready to coordinate an observer team to verify and ensure the implementation of the ceasefire agreement. Malaysia played a key role in Thailand-Cambodia’s ceasefire talks as Kuala Lumpur is the present chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional bloc.
Thailand-Cambodia Ceasefire: What are the next steps?
“Both Cambodia and Thailand reached a common understanding as follows: One, an immediate and unconditional ceasefire with effect from 24 hours local time, midnight on July 28, 2025, tonight,” PM Anwar said after mediation talks in Malaysia. As per an official statement, the next steps agreed upon are as follows –
– An “unconditional ceasefire” from midnight Malaysia time (16:00 GMT)
– Military commanders from both countries will hold an “informal meeting” at 07:00 on Tuesday
– This will be followed by a meeting of defence attaches, led by the chairman of Asean, on August 4
How Thai and Cambodian leaders reacted?
Leaders of both the countries expressed joy on the ceasefire. Cambodian PM Manet called the talks “a very good meeting” and thanked his Thai counterpart Wechayachai for his “constructive” engagement in the talks. He exuded confidence that the talks will “provide a lot of opportunities for hundreds of thousands of people on both sides.”
The Acting Thai PM too added that the ceasefire was negotiated “in good faith”.