Bangkok, 8 December 2025 (dpa/MIA) - Less than two months after signing a peace agreement, tensions flared up again between Thailand and Cambodia on Monday as the Thai military carried out what it said were retaliatory strikes in the border region.

Cambodia said that it was "in fact, the Thai military forces" that had launched the attack on Cambodian forces at around 5 am (0300 GMT), its Defence Ministry wrote in a bilingual post on X.

"It should be noted that this attack occurred after the Thai forces engaged in numerous provocative actions for many days," according to the post. It called Thailand's claims that its attack was retaliatory "false information."

Thailand claimed that its airstrikes were in response to attacks by Cambodian troops in the Chong An Ma border area early in the morning, in which one Thai soldier was killed, Thai army spokesman Winthai Suvaree told Thai media.

He said Cambodia had first shelled military and civilian targets in Thailand with grenades and rockets, and that several other soldiers were wounded.

Decades-old dispute over border demarcation

Cambodia's Defence Ministry accused its neighbour of opening fire first on the Cambodian side of the disputed border area.

The forces had used F-16 fighter jets and also gas, ministry spokesman Maly Socheata said. She did not specify what kind of gas was involved.

Cambodia had, for its part, maintained “the utmost restraint” and did not return fire, she said.

Residents on both sides of the border fled their homes, according to media reports.

At the end of October the neighbours signed a peace agreement at the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN) after heavy clashes between their forces at the border in July. US President Donald Trump brokered the deal.

In November, the agreed ceasefire was suspended following a further incident at the border.

The dispute over the 800-kilometre border between the two countries has been simmering for decades.

Photo: EPA