Trump Thailand-Cambodia end fighting under threat as Thai forces take over

FIRST ON FOX: Last year when the President Donald Trump helped broker a cease-fire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia, took a victory lap.

“Who else would say, ‘I’m going to call and stop a war between two very powerful countries, Thailand and Cambodia?'” he said.

Now, that agreement appears to be under pressure, as Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet told Fox News Digital that Thai troops have moved into long-held territory in Cambodia across the conflict line. Thai troops have cordoned off villages with barbed wire and shipping containers, leaving 80,000 Cambodians unable to return home, according to Cambodian officials.

“The work is overwhelming Thailand’s unilateral claim,” said Manet. “Many residents cannot return to their homes.”

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Cambodia and Thailand have been separated for decades on parts of their 500-mile border, much of which was drawn during French colonial rule and later interpreted differently by Bangkok and Phnom Penh. The conflict has erupted into armed conflict, particularly in areas around Khmer temples and rural villages where demarcation remains incomplete.

Tensions flared again last year, sparking clashes along the border and displacing thousands of civilians on both sides. The conflict prompted diplomatic intervention and resulted in a cease-fire agreement with US involvement during the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur.

Photos and local reports from recent fighting show damage to buildings near the border, including at or near the UNESCO-listed Preah Vihear temple complex – raising safety concerns cultural heritage sites were caught in disputed territories. Cambodian officials have blamed Thai forces for the damage, while Thai officials have denied deliberately targeting religious or cultural symbols, saying military operations were limited to disputed security areas.

The Thai embassy could not be reached for comment on the interview.

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Still, Manet refused to threaten military retaliation. “Ours is that we always stick to peaceful decisions,” he said. “We do not believe that using war to stop war is sustainable or effective.”

Thailand, with more than 70 million people – about four times Cambodia’s 17 million – maintains a much larger and better-armed army, raising the stakes for any renewed conflict.

With the fight again threatening the fragile stability on the border, Manet traveled to Washington this week for the opening meeting of Trump’s Peace Council.

“The Peace Board can play an active role in promoting peace, stability and normalcy between Cambodia and Thailand,” he said.

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Hun Manet came to power in 2023, succeeding his father, Hun Sen, who ruled Cambodia for nearly four decades. The leadership change marked the first formal transfer of power in decades, although the ruling Cambodian People’s Party has been able to maintain firm control of the country’s political system amid long-standing criticism from rights groups over restrictions on opposition activity.

A graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point, Manet wants to maintain close ties with China while cautiously reopening channels with Washington, including resuming joint military exercises that were suspended in 2017.

As Cambodia navigates disputes with Thailand, it is also balancing relations between Washington and Beijing.

A general view of the Preah Vihear temple, a UNESCO world heritage site on the border between Thailand and Cambodia, where cluster munitions, unexploded ordnance shells and others are marked in the temple grounds, following the conflicts between the two countries, in Preah Vihear province, Cambodia, on February 12, 2026. (Soveit Yarn/Reuters)

Manet said that navigating relations with competing world powers “doesn’t have to be a meaningless game” and that Cambodia, as a small nation, cannot “choose one country against another.”

That balance rests in part on Ream Naval Base, a strategic facility on Cambodia’s southern coast that has been rebuilt with Chinese funds.

I The USS Cincinnati docked at Ream in late January, marking the first visit by a US warship since the base was renovated with Chinese funding and technical support. The visit was marked by a dramatic sight: the USS Cincinnati docked about 150 meters from a Chinese warship that was already tied up at the base. For years, US officials have expressed concern that Cambodia has granted China special access.

But Manet stressed that the base remains under Cambodian control. “Our constitution states that there is no foreign military base [can] found in Cambodian soil.”

Photos and local reports from recent fighting show damage to buildings near the border, including at or near the UNESCO-listed Preah Vihear temple complex – raising safety concerns cultural heritage sites were caught in disputed territories. (Soveit Yarn/Reuters)

Manet said diplomatic relations with competing world powers “doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game” and that Cambodia, as a small nation, cannot “choose one country against another.” That balance is centered in part on Ream Naval Base, a strategic facility on Cambodia’s southern coast that has been rebuilt with Chinese funds. (Samrang Pring/Reuters)

The US visit, he said, “clearly shows that Cambodia is not only used as a country a maritime base for cooperation with China.”

Manet also confirmed that the annual US-Cambodia military exercises known as Angkor Sentinel, which were suspended in 2017, will resume this year – a sign of warming defense ties. “We hope to have a growing cooperation with the US”

In recent years, Cambodia has emerged as the epicenter of major online scams, including so-called “pig slaughter” schemes that have defrauded victims around the world – including Americans – out of billions of dollars. US authorities have sanctioned Cambodian-linked organizations tied to crypto fraud and pressured Phnom Penh to step up enforcement efforts amid concerns about human trafficking and forced labor linked to other compounds.

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Manet said his government has strengthened cooperation with American authorities and recently worked with the FBI to dismantle a major operation.

“We recently worked with the FBI to investigate a major case involving one of the Oknyaks,” he said, referring to an influential Cambodian. “We killed him, we closed one of the big companies.”