KUALA LUMPUR — U.S. President Donald Trump co-signed a new ceasefire accord between Thailand and Cambodia on Sunday during the ASEAN summit, shepherding the agreement amid regional diplomacy and trade leverage.
The agreement, signed by Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet alongside Trump and Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim, calls for Thailand to release 18 Cambodian soldiers held in custody and for both sides to begin withdrawing heavy weapons from border zones. The deal builds on a July truce and is expected to be monitored by regional observers to deter renewed violence.
Trump praised the accord as a “Great Peace Deal” and claimed he had previously pushed both nations with threats to stall trade talks, to de-escalate fighting. Cambodia’s government emphasised the move as a step toward restoring peace in border communities long plagued by conflict, while Thailand pledged coordination in its implementation.
The signing marks one of Trump’s most visible diplomatic interventions on his Asia tour and signals how trade leverage is continuing to figure into his foreign-policy toolbox.
