Trump to Call Cambodia, Thailand as Border Violence Displaces More Than 100,000

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (Dec. 10, 2025) — U.S. President Donald Trump says he will call the leaders of Cambodia and Thailand today after renewed border fighting escalated into one of Southeast Asia’s largest humanitarian crises this year.

According to Bloomberg, Trump linked the move to his “peace through strength” approach. “Tomorrow I’ll have to make a phone call” to both countries, Trump said Tuesday evening at an event in Pennsylvania. “Who else could say, ‘I’m going to make a phone call and stop a war of two very powerful countries’? We’re making peace through strength.”

Trump previously threatened both nations with trade restrictions in July to halt fighting that left dozens dead. In October, he oversaw the signing of the Kuala Lumpur Accords, which outlined a path to peace and included trade deals with Cambodia and Thailand.

The clashes, which reignited over the weekend, have involved artillery exchanges and Thai F-16 airstrikes along the 800-kilometer frontier.

Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence reported heavy Thai strikes Tuesday across Military Regions 4 and 5, hitting temples, villages and other civilian areas. Spokesperson Lt. Gen. Maly Socheata said Thai jets, tanks and artillery targeted Tamone temple, Ta Krabey, Anses and Prey Chan village.

She said the attacks violate international law and have forced more than 20,000 families — over 101,000 people — to flee their homes. Cambodian forces, she added, are acting strictly in self-defense.