The Latest on Southeast Asia: Thailand-Cambodia Disputes Ongoing, One Year After Peace Accords

Cambodia and Thailand continue to seek a resolution to border disputes on land and sea a year after the October 26, 2025 signing of what is unofficially called the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accord. That joint statement was signed by prime ministers Anutin Charnvirakul of Thailand and Hun Manet of Cambodia and witnessed by President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia on the sidelines of last year’s ASEAN Summit. The agreement strengthened a late-July 2025 ceasefire that had halted days of fighting along the Thailand-Cambodia border. The Kuala Lumpur agreement broke down in early December 2025, but a second ceasefire was reached after three weeks of fighting and remains in place.

Military representatives from both countries met most recently on October 28 to discuss the implementation of the December ceasefire. Both sides emphasized the importance of operational coordination and trust-building in achieving a peaceful settlement of disagreements. But the ceasefire remains shaky, with Bangkok this week dismissing a Cambodian demand for the return of artifacts from two border temples, insisting they are on Thai territory. Cambodia also condemned Thai military operations near these heritage sites. The Royal Thai Army responded that its presence is necessary for mine clearance and security, while also claiming to have evidence that Cambodia used temple complexes for military purposes during last year’s fighting. 

At the same time, Cambodian and Thai authorities are engaged in dialogue regarding their overlapping maritime claims in the Gulf of Thailand. After Bangkok in May terminated a 2001 memorandum of understanding on managing oil and gas resources in disputed waters, Phnom Penh initiated compulsory conciliation proceedings under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. This marks just the second time that conciliation process has been used, the first being Timor-Leste’s successful case against Australia in 2016.

Delegations from the foreign ministries of Cambodia and Thailand met in The Hague from October 14 to 18 for the round of Conciliation Commission discussions. Representatives agreed to tone down rhetoric against each other and establish a hotline between Cambodian and Thai naval commanders to minimize misunderstandings and prevent conflict. This followed their first conciliation meeting held in Singapore in September, during which both sides accused the other of inflaming tensions amid strong nationalist sentiment and heated social media discourse. 

Japhet Quitzon is an Associate Fellow for the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. 

For more political, economic, and security analysis on the region, check out our blog series, The Latest on Southeast Asia. To hear the latest news on the region and hear from Southeast Asia experts, listen and subscribe to the Southeast Asia Radio podcast on any streaming platform.