Thailand: Despite Trump Claims, We Didn't Agree to Ceasefire

Fighting raged Saturday morning along the border of Thailand and Cambodia, even after US President Trump, acting as a mediator, declared that he'd won agreement from both countries for a ceasefire. Thai officials have said they didn't agree to a ceasefire, and Cambodia hasn't commented on Trump's claim, per the AP. Its Defense Ministry instead said Thai jets carried out airstrikes on Saturday morning. Cambodian media reported Trump's claim without elaborating. Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow, however, said Saturday that some of Trump's remarks didn't "reflect an accurate understanding of the situation."

The latest large-scale fighting was set off by a skirmish on Dec. 7 that wounded two Thai soldiers and derailed a ceasefire promoted by Trump that ended five days of earlier combat in July over long-standing territorial disputes. The July ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. It was formalized in more detail in October at a regional meeting in Malaysia that Trump attended.

About two dozen people have officially been reported killed in this past week's fighting, while hundreds of thousands have been displaced on both sides of the border. The Thai military acknowledges 11 of its troops have been killed, while estimating there've been 165 fatalities among Cambodian soldiers. Cambodia hasn't announced military casualties, but it has said at least 11 civilians have been killed and 76 wounded. Trump on Friday, after speaking to Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, had announced an agreement to restart the ceasefire. Trump's claim came after midnight in Bangkok.

After his call with Trump, Anutin said he'd explained Thailand's reasons for fighting and noted that peace would depend on Cambodia ceasing its attacks first. The Thai Foreign Ministry later explicitly disputed Trump's claim that a ceasefire had been reached. The Cambodian PM, in comments posted early Saturday morning, also made no mention of a ceasefire. He said he held phone conversations on Friday night with Trump, and a night earlier with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and thanked both "for their continuous efforts to achieve a long-lasting peace between Cambodia and Thailand." "Cambodia is ready to cooperate in any way that is needed," Hun Manet wrote.