Earlier, Trump announced that he had ended this war.
Evacuation of a wounded Thai soldier. Photo: Royal Thai Army / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images
Thailand and Cambodia on Saturday signed a ceasefire agreement to end weeks of armed clashes on the border over territorial claims.
The ceasefire agreement, which came into effect around noon local time, obliges both sides not to undertake any further military actions and not to violate airspace for military purposes, reports Euronews.
According to the Cambodian Ministry of Defense, Thailand launched airstrikes on Cambodian territory on Saturday morning.
The armistice agreement also requires Thailand to return 18 Cambodian soldiers, whom it has held captive since the start of hostilities in July, after 72 hours of calm. This was a key demand from Cambodia.
The agreement was signed by the defense ministers of the two countries at a border checkpoint. This was preceded by lower-level talks between military officials, who held meetings for three days within the framework of the already established General Border Committee.
The document contains commitments for 16 de-escalation measures.
The document notes that this step will be taken "in the spirit of the Kuala Lumpur Declaration," signed by the parties at the end of October in the presence of US President Donald Trump.
The original July ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia and under pressure from US President Donald Trump, who threatened to strip Thailand and Cambodia of trade privileges if they did not agree.
It was further formalized in October at a regional meeting in Malaysia attended by Trump.
Despite these agreements, the two countries continued a fierce propaganda war, with small cross-border clashes escalating into large-scale heavy fighting in early December.
Dozens of casualties have been reported on both sides.
According to local authorities, since December 7, Thailand has lost 26 soldiers and one civilian in the fighting, and 44 civilians have also died.
Cambodia has not released official figures on military casualties but claims that 30 civilians were victims of the escalation and 90 were injured. Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated from dangerous areas on both sides of the border.
Each side blames the other for initiating hostilities, and each claims to have acted in self-defense.
The agreement also calls for both sides to adhere to international agreements prohibiting the laying of mines, which is one of Thailand's main concerns. This year, Thai soldiers on the border were injured in at least nine incidents caused, they say, by recently laid Cambodian mines. Phnom Penh (the capital of Cambodia) claims that the mines are remnants from decades of civil war that ended in the late 1990s.
Another point states that both sides "agree to refrain from spreading false information or fake news."
The agreement also states that previously adopted border demarcation measures will be resumed. Both sides also agree to cooperate in combating transnational crimes. This refers to online fraud perpetrated by large criminal groups that defraud victims worldwide of billions of dollars annually. Cambodia is considered a hub for such criminal enterprises.
The border conflict between the two countries this year is due to long-standing territorial disputes, recent political confrontation between ruling families, and economic tensions related to cross-border criminal activity.
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