AKP Phnom Penh, December 31, 2025 --

H.E. Dominic Williams, British Ambassador to Cambodia, has expressed his pleasure over Cambodia’s welcoming home of its soldiers today, describing the development as a positive step forward.

“The UK continues to encourage Cambodia and Thailand to take further steps to de-escalate tensions between their peoples and to build lasting peace,” he wrote in a social media post.

The 18 soldiers were released and safely returned to Cambodia at 10:00 a.m. on Dec. 31 via the Prum International Border Crossing in Pailin province, under the observation of the ASEAN Observer Team (AOT) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Their return follows the agreements stipulated in the Joint Statement of the 3rd Special Cambodia-Thailand General Border Committee (GBC) Meeting held on Dec. 27, 2025. Under the agreement, after the full implementation of the ceasefire for 72 hours, the 18 Cambodian soldiers were to be released and returned to Cambodia in accordance with the spirit of the Kuala Lumpur Joint Declaration signed on Oct. 26, 2025.

It is recalled that only a few hours after the ceasefire took effect at midnight on July 28, 2025, 20 Cambodian soldiers were captured by the Thai military. Two of them were released and returned to Cambodia on Aug. 1, 2025.

By C. Nika