US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that State Department officials have reached Malaysia to assist in peace talks between Cambodia and Thailand, who have been involved in an armed conflict since last week, in an attempt to broker a ceasefire with talks scheduled to begin on Monday.

In a statement released by the State Department late on Sunday, Rubio said he was involved in a discussion with US President Donald Trump and their respective counterparts for Thailand and Cambodia and the two were closely monitoring the situation in Southeast Asia.

“We want this conflict to end as soon as possible. State Department officials are on the ground in Malaysia to assist these peace efforts,” Rubio said on Sunday.

Cambodia and Thailand are scheduled to begin high level talks in Malaysia shortly in hopes of achieving an immediate ceasefire. State Department officials are on the ground in Malaysia to assist these peace efforts. Both @POTUS and I remain engaged with our respective… — Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) July 27, 2025

The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia are scheduled to attend mediation talks in Malaysia on Monday over their deadly border conflict, the Thai government has said, as both the warring nations accused each other of launching strikes over contested areas around the border.

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On Sunday, the Thai government said a delegation led by acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai would attend the truce talks, after President Trump called up the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia on Saturday to push for an immediate ceasefire. The Thai government added that Malaysia has said Cambodian Prime Minister Hum Manet would also attend the talks.

A brief border skirmish which led to the killing of a Cambodian soldier in late May has triggered tensions between Thailand and Cambodia. Last week, troops at the border on both sides were reinforced amid a diplomatic crisis that brought Thailand’s coalition government, which is already fragile, to the brink of a collapse.

The violent conflict has led to the killing of 30 people, including 13 civilians in Thailand and eight in Cambodia. More than 200,000 people have been evacuated from the border areas.

Trump on Sunday told the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia that he would not conclude the trade deals with them unless they ended their fighting.

Why are Thailand and Cambodia fighting?

Flora Drury and Gavin Butler

BBC News

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, A Cambodian truck carrying a Russian-made BM-21 rocket launcher in a border province

Simmering tensions between Thailand and Cambodia exploded into a deadly battle at the border last Thursday.

Each side is blaming each other for causing the escalation. Thailand has accused Cambodia of then firing rockets, while Bangkok carried out air strikes on Cambodian military targets.

In fact, the dispute between Thailand and Cambodia dates back more than a century, when the borders of the two nations were drawn after the French occupation of Cambodia.

Things officially became hostile in 2008, when Cambodia tried to register an 11th Century temple located in a contested area as a Unesco World Heritage Site – a move that was met with heated protest from Thailand.

Over the years there have been sporadic clashes that have seen soldiers and civilians killed on both sides.

The latest tensions ramped up in May after a Cambodian soldier was killed in a clash. This plunged bilateral ties to their lowest point in more than a decade.

Read more here on the Thai-Cambodian border dispute.

BANGKOK/PHNOM PENH, July 28 (Reuters) – The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia were set to hold talks in Malaysia on Monday to reach a ceasefire in their deadly border dispute, with the United States saying its officials would be assisting in the peace process.

Thailand’s government said it was attending talks arranged by Malaysia in its role as chair of the regional ASEAN bloc, while Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said the talks were co-organised by the United States with the participation of China.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said State Department officials were in Malaysia to assist peace efforts, after President Donald Trump had earlier said that he thought both leaders wanted to settle the conflict.

“We want this conflict to end as soon as possible,” Rubio said in statement released late on Sunday in the U.S. and early Monday in Asia.

“State Department officials are on the ground in Malaysia to assist these peace efforts.”

Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia have intensified since the killing in late May of a Cambodian soldier during a brief border skirmish. Border troops on both sides were reinforced amid a full-blown diplomatic crisis that brought Thailand’s fragile coalition government to the brink of collapse.

Hostilities broke out last Thursday and have escalated into the worst fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbours in more than a decade.

The death toll has risen above 30, including more than 20 civilians, while authorities report that more than 200,000 people have been evacuated from border areas.

ANWAR TO CHAIR TALKS

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had proposed ceasefire talks soon after the border dispute erupted into conflict on Thursday, and China and the United States also offered to assist in negotiations.

Thailand had said it supported calls for a ceasefire in principle but wanted to negotiate bilaterally, while Cambodia had called for international involvement.

Anwar said he expected to chair the negotiations after being asked by representatives of the two governments to try to find a peace settlement, state media agency Bernama reported.

“So, I’m discussing the parameters, the conditions, but what is important is (an) immediate ceasefire,” he said late on Sunday.

WASHINGTON: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (pic) said State Department officials are in Malaysia to assist peace efforts as Cambodia and Thailand were scheduled to begin talks there on Monday in hopes for a ceasefire.

President Donald Trump and Rubio were engaged with their counterparts for each country and were monitoring the situation very closely, Rubio said in a statement released by the State Department late on Sunday in the U.S. and early Monday (July 28) in Asia.

“We want this conflict to end as soon as possible,” he said. “State Department officials are on the ground in Malaysia to assist these peace efforts.”

The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia were scheduled to attend mediation talks over their deadly border conflict in Malaysia on Monday, the Thai government said, as both sides accused each other of launching fresh artillery strikes across contested areas.

Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia have intensified since the late-May killing of a Cambodian soldier during a brief border skirmish. Border troops on both sides were reinforced amid a full-blown diplomatic crisis that brought Thailand’s fragile coalition government to the brink of collapse.

Hostilities resumed on Thursday and, within just four days, escalated into the worst fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbors in more than a decade.

The death toll has risen above 30, including 13 civilians in Thailand and eight in Cambodia, while authorities report that more than 200,000 people have been evacuated from border areas.

Trump said on Sunday he believed both Thailand and Cambodia wanted to settle their differences after he told the leaders of both countries that he would not conclude trade deals with them unless they ended their fighting. – Reuters

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Tom Hogue and Stephen Coates)

Thailand and Cambodia leaders have agreed to begin ceasefire talks after days of deadly border clashes that have killed at least 33 people and displaced more than 150,000 civilians, according to multiple media outlets.

Sporadic exchanges of fire are continuing across the border even as the two side prepare for the meeting, set to take place today in Malaysia. The Thai delegation will be led by acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, and the Cambodians by Prime Minister Hum Manet. The parley comes after US President Donald Trump spoke to both leaders on Saturday.

“I called the prime ministers of each [country] and said, we’re not going to make a trade deal unless you settle a war,” Trump has said.

From 1 August, Thailand and Cambodia are both facing reciprocal tariff rates of 36 percent on exports to the US unless they can negotiate their respective trade deals – which Trump noted would be “inappropriate to do until such time as the fighting stops.”

[See more: Thailand’s casino bill has been withdrawn amid political turmoil]

The latest hostilities between the neighbouring Southeast Asian nations broke out on Thursday, intensifying along multiple sections of their 800-kilometre border on Friday and Saturday. Thailand is by far the wealthier of the two countries and has a much larger, better-resourced military.

Thai forces have accused Cambodia of sparking the conflict by deploying drones to conduct surveillance of Thai troops near the border. Cambodia, meanwhile, claims that Thai soldiers violated a prior agreement by advancing on a Khmer-Hindu temple. Both sides have lost civilians and military personnel.

The clash revives a longstanding dispute over territory demarcated during the French colonial era. It also underscores broader geopolitical tensions within the region, with US-aligned Thailand facing off against China-leaning Cambodia.

The UN Security Council held an emergency closed-door meeting regarding the conflict on Friday, with all 15 members urging restraint and a peaceful resolution. Secretary-General António Guterres offered the UN’s support in facilitating dialogue.