It was some of the worst modern fighting between the two countries, which have clashed before over a longstanding territorial dispute. It left at least 41 soldiers and civilians dead on both sides, with 260,000 people displaced.
Thailand alleged sporadic violations by Cambodia shortly after the agreement took effect and added more complaints Wednesday.
Trump credited with bringing together warring leaders
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, this year's chair of the regional Association of Southeast Asian Nations, pressed for a ceasefire early but there was little headway until U.S. President Donald Trump intervened with economic pressure.
In a social media post Saturday, Trump said he spoke to the Thai and Cambodian leaders and warned the U.S. would not move forward with trade agreements if the hostilities continued.
Both countries face economic difficulties and neither had reached tariff deals with the U.S., though most of their Southeast Asian neighbors have done so.
Ken Lohatepanont, a political analyst and University of Michigan doctoral candidate, said Thailand has been “racing to negotiate” with the U.S. for a favorable tariff rate to help its underperforming, export-oriented economy.
“President Trump’s decision to condition a successful conclusion to these talks on a ceasefire likely played a significant role in ensuring that both sides came to the negotiating table when they did," Lohatepanont said in an email.
Casey Barnett, president of American Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia, said Trump's intervention was appreciated as Cambodia faced economic and military disadvantages.
A land mine blast triggered fighting
Tensions had simmered since May when a Cambodian soldier was shot dead by Thai troops in another contested border area. The growing dispute was marked by border crossing restrictions and cross-border boycotts and bans of goods and services.
A July 23 land mine explosion in one of the disputed areas injured five Thai soldiers, including one who lost a leg. It was the second such incident in a week and the proximate cause of the armed conflict.
The immediate blowback was diplomatic, with Thailand withdrawing its ambassador from Cambodia, expelling Cambodia's envoy and shutting border crossings.
Skirmishes and artillery duels broke out in several areas, with infantry fighting mostly in disputed areas. Both countries employed artillery and Cambodia made frequent use of truck-mounted rockets. Thailand retaliated with airstrikes carried ot by U.S.-made F-16 and Swedish Grippen jet fighters.
Thailand and Cambodia are old enemies
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).
Their competing territorial claims stem largely from a 1907 map drawn when Cambodia was under French colonial rule, which Thailand has argued is inaccurate.
The International Court of Justice in 1962 awarded sovereignty to Cambodia over an area that included the 1,000-year-old Preah Vihear temple, which still riles many Thais.
A mob burned down the Thai Embassy in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh in 2003 after a rumor spread that a Thai actress had claimed Cambodia’s famous Angkor Wat temple belonged to Thailand.
Cambodia went back to the International Court of Justice in 2011 following several clashes between its army and Thai forces over Preah Vihear temple that killed about 20 people and displaced thousands. The court reaffirmed its ruling in 2013, generating more Thai resentment.
Cambodia in June proposed returning to the international court to sort out the border in the disputed areas. Thailand firmly rejected the proposal.
Underlying problems remain
The recent ceasefire did not deal with the underlying disputes and made only a sketchy mention of arranging truce monitors.
Paul Chambers, an American scholar on Thailand’s military who recently fled the country after legal threats from the army, said the ceasefire represents a positive sign.
“However, it is not sustainable unless credible and third-party representatives, such as those from ASEAN, are allowed to monitor facts on the ground," he said. “If a ceasefire holds, each government can claim ‘success’ and can possibly entrench their hold on power, undergirded by nationalistic support that is drummed up by each state."
Thailand’s leader blundered under pressure
Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra made a misguided effort to patch things up in June by making a call to Cambodia's former Prime Minister Hun Sen, calling him "uncle" and criticizing Thai military leadership.
Hun Sen served for 38 years as Cambodia's prime minister before handing over the job in 2023 to his eldest son Hun Manet.
Hun Sen leaked the phone call with Paetongtarn, who was suspended from her duties for alleged ethical violations. Her remarks were framed as disrespectful to national sovereignty while critics recalled the much-publicized friendship between Hun Sen and her father, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who has since disavowed the relationship.
Paetongtarn’s Pheu Thai party has been left with just a thin majority in Parliament after the major partner in the ruling coalition dropped out.
The events increased the Thai army's political influence at the elected government's expense, Chambers said.
“One thing is for sure in Thailand: the military, following this crisis, has enhanced its authority over civilians," he said.
Puangthong Pawakapan, a political scientist at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, said it will likely make long-awaited reforms to curb the army's political power even more difficult.
"The military has emerged as the winner, being hailed as heroes, while the Pheu Thai government is losing,” she said.
In Cambodia, she said, “I don’t think the power of the Hun family will be shaken at all.”
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Peck reported from Bangkok, Jintamas Saksornchai from Surin, Thailand, and Sopheng Cheang from Samrong, Cambodia. Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul in Bangkok and Anton L. Delgado in Samrong contributed.
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