Trump Signals He’s Ready to Step In as Thailand–Cambodia Conflict Intensifies

Trump Signals He’s Ready to Step In as Thailand–Cambodia Conflict Intensifies

The last time I reported on the Thailand-Cambodia border conflict, fighting between the two Asian nations had escalated quickly, with Thai airstrikes along the disputed border and reports of ground clashes in several regions.

Each country is blaming the other for the hostilities. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump indicates he plans to intervene to stop the fighting and save the ceasefire he brokered earlier this summer.

Trump, at a rally in Pennsylvania late on Tuesday, said he would try to stop the renewed hostilities. On Wednesday, he told reporters that he expected to speak with the countries’ leaders on Thursday. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for additional information about the calls.

“I think I can get them to stop fighting,” Trump said. “I think I’m scheduled to speak to them tomorrow.”

Thailand’s army has made clear it wants to cripple Cambodia’s military capabilities and Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Tuesday said operations would not stop.

He declined to comment on Wednesday on what the military’s endgame was. Asked about Trump’s remarks, he said the conflict was a matter between the two countries involved.

While Thai officials aim to eliminate Cambodia’s military capacity, Cambodia’s Senate President Hun Sen promised a fierce fight in return.

In a statement posted to Facebook and Telegram, Hun Sen claimed that his country had refrained from retaliating Monday, but overnight began to fire back at Thai forces.

“Cambodia wants peace, but Cambodia is forced to fight back to defend its territory,” Hun Sen wrote. He was 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.

Renewed border fighting between #Thailand & #Cambodia showed no signs of abating, with hundreds of thousands of displaced people in strained conditions as more flooded into temporary shelters.https://t.co/KAbfzQ8h1K
Associated Press reporters on the Thai side of the border heard… pic.twitter.com/st5nix277q

— ⚡️🌎 World News 🌐⚡️ (@ferozwala) December 11, 2025

Legal Insurrection readers may recall Hun Sun from my original reporting on the subject. A betrayal from a once-close Thai ally may be at the heart of this heated exchange.

Hun Sen, Cambodia’s long-serving former prime minister (now Senate president), and Thaksin Shinawatra, ex-prime minister of Thailand and head of the Shinawatra political dynasty, were once close allies. Thaksin lived in exile in Cambodia for years after his 2006 ouster, and Hun Sen named him an economic advisor, heightening both men’s reputations as power brokers in Southeast Asia.

They apparently had a falling out, which may lie at the heart of this conflict.

At this point, the military action has caused 10 deaths and hundreds of thousands to evacuate. It does not appear that either side plans to end hostilities soon, mining and trade deals notwithstanding.

The new wave of fighting between Thailand and Cambodia has killed at least 10 people, injured nearly two dozen and displaced hundreds of thousands. On Tuesday, a new front appeared to open near the Gulf of Thailand, as the Thai Navy said it had conducted “military operations” to expel Cambodian forces that had encroached on Trat Province.

…While the contours of the current conflict are similar to the five-day war in July, this time feels different.

The rhetoric on both sides appears to have escalated.

On Tuesday, Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, the spokesman for the Thai Defense Ministry, told reporters that “military actions will be continued until Cambodia changes its standpoints and returns to the peace process.”

Cambodia’s de facto leader, Hun Sen, said Cambodian forces had exercised restraint to allow civilians to move to safety. Now, he said, they would retaliate.

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