Members of a Thai Explosive Ordnance Disposal team inspect the site of a rocket attack during clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers in Kantharalak district of Sisaket province, Thailand, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. -- AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit
BEIJING (Xinhua): China calls for utmost restraint and every possible measure conducive to a ceasefire to ensure de-escalation of tensions as soon as possible amid the ongoing Cambodia-Thailand border clashes, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told a daily press briefing on Monday.
The Cambodia-Thailand border conflict has reportedly reignited since Dec. 7, less than two months after the two sides signed a joint peace declaration.
Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that as a friendly neighbor and friend to Cambodia and Thailand, China pays close attention to developments on their border, has been deeply saddened by the casualties resulting from the conflict, and expresses heartfelt sympathies.
Guo said that for Cambodia and Thailand -- two neighbors that cannot move away from each other -- the top priorities are ensuring a ceasefire, putting an end to the conflict, and protecting civilians.
Since the outbreak of the Cambodia-Thailand border conflict, China has maintained close communication with both sides through multiple channels and levels, in light of the wishes of the two countries concerned, Guo said. China has also engaged in active mediation for peace talks to create the conditions and provide a platform for dialogue.
China supports direct dialogue and consultation between the two countries, as well as the efforts of Asean -- and Malaysia, in particular -- to promote peace talks, and the pursuit of a mutually acceptable solution within the Asean framework, according to Guo.
"China is making and will continue to make every effort to promote peace talks, to play a constructive role in securing a ceasefire and the end of conflict between Cambodia and Thailand, and to help restore peace in our own way," Guo added.
The Thai military forces' attack on Cambodia in the 4th Military Region has entered further deep into Cambodian sovereign territory, said the Cambodian Ministry of Defense on Monday.
The Thai military forces have expanded their airstrikes to a location in northwest Cambodia's Siem Reap province, the ministry said in a press release, adding that the Thai military used an F-16 fighter jet to drop two bombs near a displaced civilian camp in the province at 10am on Monday local time.
The fresh border conflict with Thailand has left 12 Cambodian civilians dead and 74 others injured as of 6 p.m. local time on Sunday, Cambodia's Interior Ministry Spokesperson Touch Sokhak said at a press briefing on Monday.
Meanwhile, the number of displaced persons in Cambodia has exceeded 403,000, including approximately 208,000 women and about 96,000 children, according to the spokesperson.
Cambodian Defense Ministry's Undersecretary of State and Spokesperson Lt. Gen. Maly Socheata said that from Sunday midnight until Monday morning, the Thai military forces continued to fire artillery shells at multiple locations in Cambodian territory.
The Cambodia-Thailand border conflict has reignited since December 7, and both sides have accused the other of initiating the attack. -- Xinhua
