Trump praises his peacemaking skills as Thailand and Cambodia sign ceasefire agreement
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — President Donald Trump began his trip to Asia on Sunday by presiding over the signing of an enhanced ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia that he helped broker earlier this year.
A five-day border conflict in July between the two Southeast Asian neighbors killed dozens of people and displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians in both countries.
The leaders of Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia were on stage with Trump to sign the peace agreements in Kuala Lumpur, named after the Malaysian capital where negotiations took place in July.
Standing in front of a backdrop reading “Peace Delivered,” Trump said the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia was one of eight wars his administration has ended since he took office in January.
“On behalf of the United States, I am proud to help resolve this conflict and shape the future of the region,” Trump said.
Trump recalled receiving phone calls from the prime ministers of Thailand and Cambodia during a visit to his Scottish golf course this summer.
“Turnberry is a great place, but I said this is much more important than playing a round of golf,” Trump said. “So we sat there all day, making phone calls.”
Trump also took a moment to recognize the death on Friday at the age of 93 of Thailand’s Queen Mother Sirikit, who he said embodied “dignity, kindness and grace.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Thailand will release 18 detained Cambodian soldiers, and observers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will be deployed.
Trump thanked Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, president of ASEAN, for facilitating the talks. In turn, Anwar thanked Trump for his role in brokering the ceasefire.
He said: “The world needs leaders who strongly promote peace, and to achieve that you have to break some rules, as I did today,” referring to Trump’s invitation to ride with him from the airport to the ceremony at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center in violation of security protocols.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet also thanked Trump for his “untiring efforts” to make the peace deal a reality, repeating an earlier promise that Cambodia would nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul He said that the agreement “will provide the basic building blocks for a lasting peace.”
After signing the peace deal, Trump – who threatened to impose harsh tariffs on both Thailand and Cambodia if the two countries did not reach an agreement – signed a reciprocal trade agreement with Cambodia and a framework for a reciprocal trade agreement with Thailand.
Thailand is working to remove customs barriers on 99% of American goods, while Cambodia is working to remove them on all American goods. The United States will maintain a 19% tariff rate on imports from both countries.
Trump also signed a trade agreement with Malaysia, which US Trade Representative Jamison Greer said would “adjust tariffs and non-tariff barriers.” Malaysia is also subject to a 19% US tariff.
In addition, Trump signed agreements with Malaysia and Thailand for critical minerals, which are key components of electronic devices and defense technologies.
Finding alternative sources of critical minerals has become an urgent issue for the United States after China, which has a monopoly on their production and processing, announced export controls as part of the ongoing trade war between the United States and China.
Speaking at the signing of the US-Malaysia trade deal, Greer said it was important to secure supply chains for vital minerals “for our people and the security of our economies”.
Malaysia is the first stop on Trump’s Asian tour, which will also take him to Japan and South Korea.
While in Malaysia, Trump is also attending the annual summit of ASEAN, an 11-member regional grouping after East Timor officially joined on Sunday.
During his first term as president, Trump attended an ASEAN summit just once, raising questions about his administration’s commitment to a strategically important region courted by both the United States and China.
Attending this year’s summit “sends a lasting message that the United States is back and ready to provide strong countermeasures and deterrence against China in economic and security capabilities,” said Collins Chong Yu Keat, a foreign affairs, security and strategy analyst at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur.