Thailand considers blocking fuel exports to Cambodia as border conflict escalates

BANGKOK: Thailand’s military said it was considering blocking fuel exports to Cambodia, as fighting between the two countries spread to coastal areas of a disputed border region two days after US President Donald Trump said the sides had agreed to a new ceasefire.

The Southeast Asian neighbours have resorted to arms several times this year since a Cambodian soldier was killed in a May skirmish, reigniting a conflict that has displaced hundreds of thousands of people on both sides of the border.

Thai military commanders have been discussing blocking 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”, a navy official told 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 matter would be discussed at a security meeting on Monday.

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

Cambodia accused Thailand of striking civilian infrastructure, including the use of fighter jets and shelling in civilian areas. Thailand said it has targeted only military targets.

Thailand announced a curfew in its southeastern Trat province on Sunday as fighting continues across the two countries’ 817-km (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 died, and hundreds injured since the latest round of clashes which started on Monday with 258,626 civilians displaced, according to the Thai authorities. Cambodia did not report any new deaths or injuries on Sunday. At least 11 have died, 74 injured and 394,706 have been displaced since Monday, according to Cambodia’s interior ministry.

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

“Overall, there have been clashes continuously” since Cambodia again reiterated its openness to a ceasefire on Saturday, Thai Defence Ministry spokesman Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri told a press conference in Bangkok later on Sunday. Trump - who brokered a ceasefire in the long-running dispute in October - said he spoke to Thailand’s caretaker Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian premier Hun Manet on Friday, and said they had agreed to “cease all shooting”. Anutin vowed on Saturday to keep 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 honour commitments and that “he will hold anyone accountable as necessary to stop the killing and ensure durable peace”.