THAILAND’S military said today that it has stopped fuel shipments passing through a border checkpoint with Laos.

The Thais said they feared the oil was being diverted to Cambodia, with which it is continuing to fight a fierce conflict across multiple locations along their 508-mile disputed border.

Thai defence ministry spokesperson Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri said his country has blocked the movement of fuel supplies through the Chong Mek border crossing into Laos after saying they had received intelligence that these were being routed to Cambodian troops.

He told a press conference: “Our intention is not to cause impacts on the Lao people or government.” 

The Laotian foreign ministry has not immediately commented. 

The Thai military is also considering limiting the movement of its country’s vessels into “high-risk areas” in Cambodian waters where they could be fired upon, a navy official said, adding that any such measures would not impact shipments from other countries.

Kpler ship-tracking data shows Singapore to be the largest supplier of gasoline, gas oil and jet fuel to Cambodia, with volumes so far this year totalling around 915,000 metric tons.

Volumes from Thailand have fallen to around 30,000 tons this year, from less than 180,000 tons last year, the data showed.

The fighting is continuing despite attempts by the international community to broker a ceasefire deal.

A meeting of south-east Asian foreign ministers set for tomorrow, where both sides could have met, has been pushed back to December 22 at the request of the Thais, according to the Malaysian foreign ministry.

Over half a million people have been displaced by the fighting, which has killed at least 38 on both sides over the past eight days, according to national authorities, who mounted a round of evacuations in July when the neighbours clashed for five days before Indonesia brokered a truce that was later claimed by US President Donald Trump.