Due to the decades-long border dispute, the Cambodia-Thailand war, which lasted for five consecutive days last week, has stopped at the moment. Although the two countries announced a ceasefire last Tuesday, the situation of tension has not yet subsided.

At least 43 people were killed on both sides during the five-day clash. Cambodia on Thursday asked Thailand to return 20 of its soldiers it claimed had been captured. Cambodia said the soldier was captured a few hours after the ceasefire. There is an open border of about eight hundred kilometers between these two countries. 

Mali Socheta, spokesperson of the Ministry of Defense of Cambodia, said on Thursday that negotiations are underway for the release of the soldier. "We will do our best to continue the dialogue with the Thai side to bring all our soldiers back home safely and as soon as possible," he said at the press conference. "We call on the Thai side to send all 20 military personnel back to Cambodia as soon as possible."

The Thai government said on Wednesday that the detained soldiers had been treated in accordance with international humanitarian law and military regulations and would be returned once the situation on the border stabilized. UN human rights chief Volker Türk has urged both neighboring countries to fully implement their ceasefire agreement and take swift steps to build trust and peace. "This important agreement must be fully respected by both sides in good faith as diplomatic efforts to resolve the root causes of the conflict continue," he said.

After the intervention of US President Donald Trump, a peace agreement was reached in Malaysia. Both Thailand and Cambodia are trying to persuade Trump for a trade deal to avert the threat of steep tariffs. Around 300,000 people fled their homes as both sides fought with jets, rockets and artillery attacks in the mountainous rural border area surrounded by forests and agricultural land.