Thai army says Cambodia claims new border strike was accident amid truce 

Thailand’s army says Cambodia has claimed that a new strike was an accident, after a Thai soldier was wounded in a mortar attack in a disputed border region, as a ceasefire agreed in late December continues to hold.

On Tuesday morning, Thai forces had accused their Cambodian counterparts of violating the 10-day-old truce, after bombarding a border province.

But in a later statement, the Thai military said the Cambodian side had contacted them to explain “there was no intention to fire into Thai territory”, adding that “the incident was caused by an operational error by Cambodian personnel.”

Thailand’s army accused Cambodian forces of firing mortar rounds into Ubon Ratchathani province, with one soldier wounded by shrapnel and evacuated for medical treatment.

“The Thai military unit in the area issued a warning to Cambodia to exercise caution and emphasised that if such errors occur again, Thailand may be compelled to carry out defensive countermeasures,” said the Thai army.

The decades-old dispute between the Southeast Asian neighbours erupted into military clashes several times last year, with fighting in December killing dozens of people and displacing about one million on both sides.

The two countries agreed a truce on December 27, ending three weeks of clashes.

Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence spokeswoman Maly Socheata declined to comment on the alleged strike on Tuesday.

The nations’ longstanding conflict stems from a dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of their 800km (500-mile) border, where both sides claim territory and centuries-old temple ruins.

Under the December truce, Cambodia and Thailand pledged to ceasefire, freeze troop movements and cooperate on demining efforts along their border.

Bangkok also released 18 Cambodian soldiers held since July, when deadly border clashes that month killed dozens of people.

Thailand freed the Cambodian soldiers on December 31, with its Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying their release was “a demonstration of goodwill and confidence-building”.

Phnom Penh said last week it remained “hopeful” that their release would “significantly contribute to building mutual trust”.

The United States, China and Malaysia had brokered a truce to end the fighting between Cambodia and Thailand in July, but that ceasefire was short-lived.

In October, US President Donald Trump jetted to Malaysia to oversee the signing of a follow-on declaration, touting new trade deals after the neighbours agreed to prolong their truce.

But Bangkok suspended the agreement the following month, after Thai soldiers were wounded by landmines while on patrol at the border.

On Saturday, one week after the December truce went into effect, Cambodia called on Thailand to pull out its forces from several border areas Phnom Penh claims as its own.

The Thai military has rejected claims it had used force to seize Cambodian territory, insisting its forces were present in areas that had always belonged to Thailand.

While the two nations agreed late last month to stop fighting, they still need to resolve the demarcation of their disputed border.

Cambodia’s Defence Ministry said in a statement Tuesday morning that Phnom Penh had proposed a bilateral border committee meeting with Thai counterparts to be held in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province this month.

Bangkok has said previously that meetings to discuss border surveying and demarcation may need to be held by Thailand’s next government, following elections scheduled for February 8.