Thailand releases 18 Cambodian soldiers as border cease-fire holds
Thailand has released 18 Cambodian soldiers held since July, both governments said, in the first tangible sign that a fresh cease-fire is holding after weeks of deadly clashes along their disputed frontier.
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Thailand’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the repatriation as “a demonstration of goodwill and confidence-building,” saying the troops were handed back to Cambodia after more than three days without major incidents under a truce agreed on Saturday.
The agreement paused renewed fighting that left dozens dead and displaced more than a million people this month, according to both sides. Under the terms of the truce, Thailand and Cambodia pledged to halt fire, freeze troop movements and cooperate on demining across the scarred border zone.
Cambodia said the soldiers were captured by Thai forces on July 29 — nearly eight hours after a previous cease-fire that capped five days of intense exchanges went into effect. That July pause, brokered by the United States, China and Malaysia, quickly unraveled.
In October, U.S. President Donald Trump traveled to Malaysia to witness the signing of a follow-on declaration between the neighbors, touting new trade ties as both sides agreed to prolong the truce. The pact called for Thailand to “promptly release” the captured Cambodians, referring to them as “prisoners of war.” Thailand suspended that agreement the following month after several of its soldiers were wounded by land mines during a patrol.
Hostilities reignited this month with artillery, tanks, drones and jets deployed across nearly every border province on both sides, according to officials. The release on Tuesday saw Cambodian soldiers greeted at a checkpoint along the border as they were processed for return.
The flashpoint remains a colonial-era demarcation of the 800-kilometer border, where both sides claim sovereignty over areas dotted with centuries-old temple ruins. The International Court of Justice has ruled on parts of the dispute in the past, but unresolved segments have repeatedly flared into violence when political winds shift in Bangkok or Phnom Penh.
While the current truce appears to be holding, diplomats and defense officials acknowledge that lasting calm will depend on implementing the demining plan, establishing communication hotlines and setting ground rules for patrols to prevent small incidents from spiraling. Formal talks on border demarcation, repeatedly delayed in recent years, remain the necessary next step.
The return of the 18 soldiers offers a rare confidence-building gesture after months of bloodshed. Whether it marks a turning point will hinge on both governments’ willingness to pair de-escalation with a revived, sustained negotiation over the border — and to shield those talks from political pressure at home.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
