Thailand considers blocking fuel exports to Cambodia as border conflict escalates

BANGKOK — Thailand’s military said it is considering blocking fuel exports to Cambodia as fighting between the two neighbors spread to coastal areas of a disputed border region, two days after U.S. President Donald Trump said both sides had agreed to a new ceasefire.

The Southeast Asian neighbors have clashed repeatedly this year after a Cambodian soldier was killed in a May skirmish, reigniting a long-running dispute that has displaced hundreds of thousands of people on both sides of the border.

Thai military commanders have discussed measures to block fuel exports to Cambodia, including asking the navy to be vigilant against ships carrying strategic supplies and designating maritime zones near Cambodian ports as high-risk areas, a navy official said at a press conference on Sunday.

“At this time there are no orders on these measures,” said Captain Nara Khunkothom, assistant spokesperson for the Royal Thai Navy, adding that the issue would be discussed at a security meeting on Monday.

Thailand’s energy ministry said on Friday that the country had halted oil exports to Cambodia since June. Thailand exported 2.2 billion liters of fuel to Cambodia last year, according to ministry data.

Thailand Imposes Curfew in Southeastern Province

Cambodia has accused Thailand of striking civilian infrastructure, including using fighter jets and shelling civilian areas. Thailand said it has targeted only military positions.

Thailand announced a curfew in its southeastern Trat province on Sunday as fighting continued along the two countries’ 817-kilometer (508-mile) border. A soldier and a civilian were killed by BM-21 rockets fired by Cambodia on Sunday, Thai authorities said.

At least 16 soldiers and 10 civilians have been killed and hundreds injured since the latest round of clashes began on Monday, with 258,626 civilians displaced, according to Thai authorities.

Cambodia reported no new deaths or injuries on Sunday. At least 11 people have been killed, 74 injured, and 394,706 displaced since Monday, according to Cambodia’s interior ministry.

Thai forces said on Saturday they destroyed a bridge used by Cambodia to transport heavy weapons and equipment to the area and launched an operation targeting pre-positioned artillery in Cambodia’s coastal Koh Kong province.

“Overall, there have been continuous clashes,” Thai Defense Ministry spokesperson Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri said at a press conference in Bangkok on Sunday, despite Cambodia reiterating its openness to a ceasefire a day earlier.

Trump, who brokered a ceasefire in the long-running dispute in October, said he spoke on Friday with Thailand’s caretaker Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, and that both leaders had agreed to “cease all shooting.”

Anutin said on Saturday that Thailand would continue fighting “until we feel no more harm and threats to our land and people.”

A White House spokesperson later said Trump expected all parties to honor their commitments and that “he will hold anyone accountable as necessary to stop the killing and ensure durable peace.”

Thailand remains open to a diplomatic solution, Surasant said, but added that “Cambodia has to cease hostility first before we can negotiate.” -Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um; Writing by Poppy McPherson; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Emelia Sithole-Matarise