Trump Urges the Thai government to Reaffirm Commitment to Cambodia Truce with Trade Penalties
Washington has exerted influence on Thailand to recommit to a truce deal with Cambodia, warning that trade talks could be halted as attempts are made to stop a Donald Trump-brokered peace agreement from collapsing.
Rising Border Hostilities
In recent days, Thai officials declared it was suspending the ceasefire deal, alleging Cambodia of laying fresh landmines along the shared border, among them an incident that reportedly wounded a Thai military personnel on duty, who suffered a foot amputation in the explosion.
Following this, a fatality occurred and several others wounded by exchanges of fire along the Thai-Cambodia frontier, raising concerns of a fresh wave of retaliatory clashes.
US Trade Pressure
Over the weekend, a Thai foreign ministry spokesperson told journalists that a official communication from the U.S. trade office announcing the pause in trade negotiations was obtained on the previous evening.
He quoted the document as saying that trade negotiations – which are addressing a US tariff of 19% – could restart once the Thai government reaffirmed its commitment to carrying out the joint ceasefire declaration.
“Tariff negotiations will continue and remain separate from border issues,” stated a different official representative.
President’s Economic Warning
Speaking to the press aboard the presidential plane as he traveled to the Sunshine State on the end of the week, Trump implied that he had used the “threat of tariffs” in calls with the south-east Asian leaders.
The US president said, “Today, I prevented a conflict using tariffs, the menace of duties,” continuing, “they are performing well. I believe they will be okay.”
Truce Deal Origins
The President witnessed the finalization of a ceasefire agreement, conducted in Malaysian territory this last autumn, and has promoted it as one of multiple agreements around the world he claims should win him the prestigious peace award.
The worst fighting in a decade between military forces of both nations broke out in mid-summer, with exchanges of fire, shelling and aerial attacks leaving dozens of people killed and hundreds of thousands forced to flee.
Historic Frontier Conflict
The two neighboring countries have a historic territorial disagreement that originates from conflicts regarding colonial-era maps created by French cartographers. Ancient temples along the border are disputed by each nation.
Reuters contributed to this report.
