Cambodia vows fierce fight against Thailand in escalating border
conflict
[December 09, 2025]
By JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI and SOPHENG CHEANG
SURIN, Thailand (AP) — Cambodia’s powerful Senate President Hun Sen on
Tuesday vowed that his country would carry out a fierce fight against
Thailand as a second day of widespread renewed combat between the
Southeast Asian neighbors drove tens of thousands of people to flee
border areas.
Fighting broke out following a skirmish on Sunday during which two Thai
soldiers were injured, derailing a ceasefire that ended fighting over
competing territorial claims in July. The five days of fighting then
left dozens dead on both sides, and forced the evacuation of over
100,000 civilians.
Both sides vow to keep fighting
In a sign that neither side was willing to back down, Thai Prime
Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said Tuesday that Cambodia had not yet
contacted Thailand about possible negotiations and the fighting would
continue.
“We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do,” he said. “The government will
support all kinds of military operations as planned earlier.” He had
said Monday that military action was necessary to safeguard the nation’s
sovereignty and ensure public safety.
In a statement posted to Facebook and Telegram, Hun Sen claimed that his
country had refrained from retaliating on Monday, but overnight began to
fire back at Thai forces, saying Cambodia would "weaken and destroy
enemy forces through counterattacks.”
Thailand’s military said Cambodia attacked Thai positions with artillery
and rocket and drone attacks on Tuesday. Thailand says that Cambodian
forces also fired at its troops Sunday and Monday, but each side blames
the other for firing the first shots.
“Cambodia wants peace, but Cambodia is forced to fight back to defend
its territory,” Hun Sen wrote. He was Cambodia’s long-serving prime
minister until 2023, when he was succeeded by his son Hun Manet, but is
still widely seen as the country’s de facto leader.
Cambodia’s military announced Tuesday that the new fighting had killed
seven civilians and wounded 20. A Thai military spokesperson announced
Tuesday that three soldiers have been killed in the new fighting.
Thailand on Monday carried out airstrikes along the frontier, which it
said were a defensive action targeting military installations. Thai
military spokesperson Rear Adm. Surasant Kongsiri said Tuesday that such
operations would continue “until attacks stop.”
Villagers on both sides flee to safety
Ordinary citizens meanwhile had to deal with life after being relocated
from the danger zones.
An evacuation shelter at a university in Thailand's northeastern city of
Surin is hosting more than 3,600 people. Evacuees sit or lie on thin
mats spread across the floor, and several have set up small tents in
their allotted areas as sleeping spaces.
At lunchtime, some line up with their own plates to receive cooked rice,
while others wait in place to be served ready-to-eat meals packed in
small plastic bags. An army band plays for their entertainment.
Portable fans cool them during the day. Blankets, in piles beside them,
keep them warm at night, when temperatures can fall to as low as 18 C
(64 F).
“We were preparing to evacuate. We hadn’t left yet. But when we heard
shots we hurried out immediately," cassava farmer Pan-ngam Kanchangthong
told The Associated Press. "I was scared. Who wouldn’t be scared of
shelling?”
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A Thai Buddhist monk uses his computer while taking shelter in
Buriram province, Thailand, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, after he fled
clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers. (AP Photo/Wason
Wanichakorn)
The Thai army said almost 500 temporary shelters have been set up in
four border provinces, accommodating 125,838 people. Additionally
displaced people from the fighting are expected to stay with
relatives in safe areas.
Evacuees on the Cambodian side had similar experiences.
“I felt terrified when I heard the sound of the explosion from the
shelling. At that time, I was working at the garment factory," said
44-year-old Vach Neang, a father of seven.
“I called my wife and my kids but couldn't reach them, and by that
time the sound of explosions was getting louder, so the factory
owner let us go home," said Vach Neang, speaking at a former market
in Cambodia’s northwestern province of Banteay Meanchey that has
been repurposed as a shelter, He added that he packed just a few
clothes before leaving his home.
Cambodian Information Minister Neth Pheaktra said almost 55,000
people have been evacuated and the numbers are mounting.
The two nations have a history of ill will
Thailand and Cambodia have a history of enmity over centuries and
experience periodic tensions along their land border of more than
800 kilometers (500 miles). Centuries ago both were powerful
empires, but Thailand's size and greater development over the past
century give it the military advantage.
Some of the disputed territory hosts centuries-old temples that both
nations covet as part of their legacy.
The ceasefire that ended July’s fighting was brokered by Malaysia
and pushed through by pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who
threatened to withhold trade privileges from the two nations unless
they agreed to it.
A more detailed agreement signed in October called for removing
heavy weapons from the border; desisting from disseminating false
information and harmful rhetoric; implementing measures to restore
mutual trust; and coordinating operations to remove land mines.
None of these actions appear to have been fully implemented by
either side. After the ceasefire, both nations continued to fight a
bitter propaganda war using disinformation, alongside minor
outbreaks of cross-border violence.
Prisoners and land mines have been sticky issues
A major Cambodian complaint has been that Thailand continues to hold
18 prisoners who were taken captive the same day the ceasefire went
into effect. Thailand claims they approached its positions in a
threatening manner, an allegation denied by Phnom Penh.
Meanwhile, Thailand accuses Cambodia of laying new land mines in the
areas under dispute, in several cases maiming Thai soldiers.
Cambodia says the mines are left over from decades of civil war that
ended in 1999.
The mines issue caused Thailand to declare earlier this month that
it was indefinitely pausing implementation of the details of the
ceasefire until Cambodia apologized for the latest incident wounding
Thai soldiers.
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