Thailand and Cambodia have signaled their readiness to negotiate a ceasefire after mediation by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Thailand has mobilised gunboats to patrol its province bordering Cambodia as conflict between the two nations enters the third day, with death toll climbing to 33 and tens of thousands seeking refuge.

Both countries lay claim to centuries-old worship sites perched on the mountains that divide the two nations, sometimes stoking nationalistic fervor.

The 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, a Hindu shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva, is perched on a 525 metre cliff in Cambodia's Dangrek mountains.

At least 32 people have died between Thailand and Cambodia. Thailand claims Cambodia planted landmines that injured Thai soldiers, sparking retaliation.

The renewed fighting comes just hours after US President Donald Trump claimed to have brokered a peace deal through phone diplomacy.Cambodian troops fired on Thai soldiers near Ta Kwai temple in Surin province,

The latest flare-up started on Thursday, with intense fighting spreading across multiple border areas. Early Saturday, Thailand’s navy joined the army in repelling what it described as incursions by Cambodian troops at three points in eastern Trat province.

Cambodia is seeking to "internationalise the issue to serve its own political objectives", Thailand’s ambassador to the United Nations Cherdchai Chaivaivid told a closed-door UN Security Council meeting.

Thailand and Cambodia have exchanged fire on their border in a sharp escalation of a conflict that killed at least 12 people, mostly civilians and including two children aged eight and 15.

The conflict over the shared border between the two countries grew on Saturday, in the deadliest conflict between them in more than a decade.