New Thai Foreign Minister Calls for Troop Reduction Along Cambodian Border

Thailand’s new foreign minister said Thursday that Thailand and Cambodia should scale back their military presence along the shared border and work together to ease tensions.

Sihasak Phuangketkeo, who formally assumed office a day earlier alongside Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, stressed the need to uphold the ceasefire agreed in July following five days of intense clashes between the two neighbors.

Speaking to reporters on his first day in office, Sihasak said his top priority is to ensure peace between the Southeast Asian neighbors.

He noted that both countries must follow through on measures agreed during talks earlier this month, including reducing troop levels, removing landmines, and cracking down on illegal activities.

“Peace requires scaling down military forces, including the withdrawal of heavy weapons from border areas, to reduce the risk of renewed violence,” Sihasak said. “We have already agreed on these principles, but now we need to see progress.”

Thailand and Cambodia have disputed sovereignty over various sections of their 817-kilometer (508-mile) land border for more than a century. The boundary was first mapped in 1907, when Cambodia was a French colony.

In July, tensions over contested areas erupted into armed conflict involving artillery and fighter jets. The fighting—the most severe between the two countries in more than a decade—left at least 48 people dead and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes.

The clashes ended on July 28 after Malaysia brokered a ceasefire, and the border has remained largely calm since, though underlying tensions persist.