Refugees in a gymnasium at Surindra Rajabhat University in Thailand's Surin Province, bordering Cambodia, on July 24, 2025. LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP
After four days of brutal armed confrontation along the Cambodia-Thailand border, the prime ministers of both countries agreed on Monday, July 28, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to observe a ceasefire starting at midnight. The meeting was held under the auspices of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, whose country currently holds the presidency of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Bangkok was represented by Phumtham Wechayachai, the acting prime minister since the suspension of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra in June. Phumtham is a close associate of Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister who returned from exile in 2024 and father of Paetongtarn. (In Thailand, leaders are referred to by their first names.) Hun Manet, the Cambodian prime minister who traveled to Kuala Lumpur and is the son of Cambodia's longtime strongman Hun Sen, welcomed a solution "to move forward." July 28 also marks the birthday of the Thai king, Rama X, making it a symbolically significant date in this kingdom rife with political rivalries. Celebrations in Bangkok have been suspended.
