Thailand, Cambodia agree to truce after Trump, Anwar outreach
Thailand's Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet held discussions on Monday (Jul 28) in Malaysia, hosted by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar facilitated the dialogue in his role as the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, with Washington and Beijing dispatching envoys.
Anwar, speaking after the talks, said the sides agreed to a ceasefire as of midnight.
The talks mark the first formal dialogue since fresh clashes erupted on July 24, with at least 36 people killed and more than 150,000 civilians displaced on both sides of their 800-kilometre border. Tensions escalated rapidly over the weekend, as heavy artillery fire and aerial strikes were reported, and both sides accused each other of targeting civilian areas.
US President Donald Trump had said before the discussions that the Thai and Cambodian leaders had agreed to 'quickly work out a ceasefire.' After separate calls with Phumtham and Hun Manet on Saturday, Trump had threatened that Washington would not do a trade deal with either as long as the fighting continued.
Before departing for the talks, Phumtham questioned Cambodia's sincerity in halting fighting as clashes continued into early Monday. The discussions were set to focus on ending the hostilities and maintaining Thailand's sovereignty, he told reporters.
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Thailand has insisted that any ceasefire must include troop withdrawals, an end to lethal force and an agreement to resolve conflict through bilateral mechanisms. Cambodia, by contrast, says it supports an unconditional end to hostilities.
The current conflict traces its roots to long-standing disputes stemming from colonial-era maps and treaties that defined the two countries' boundaries. Relations had remained relatively stable since a 2011 clash that left dozens dead, but renewed tensions have triggered fears of escalated fighting.
Trump threatened to block trade deals with both countries unless the violence stopped. 'We're not going to make a trade deal unless you settle the war,' Trump said on Sunday, adding that both leaders expressed willingness to negotiate after speaking with him directly.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier that US officials are on the ground in Malaysia 'to assist these peace efforts.' China, the top trading partner for both South-east Asian nations and a major backer of Phnom Penh, is due to participate in the talks, the Cambodian leader said.
'Both President Trump and I remain engaged with our respective counterparts for each country and are monitoring the situation very closely,' Rubio said earlier in a statement. 'We want this conflict to end as soon as possible.'
With Trump's Aug 1 tariff deadline looming, trade-reliant Thailand wants to avoid antagonizing the US president, especially as its officials have been holding talks to lower the steep 36% planned levy on its exports. Trump has claimed credit for helping halt border clashes earlier this year between India and Pakistan by leveraging trade measures. It's an assertion India has consistently denied but Pakistan has embraced.
Thailand's trade talks with the US have included offering expanded access for American goods to narrow a US$46 billion trade surplus. Neighbouring Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam have already secured trade deals with the US in recent weeks.
'President Trump's pressure tactic seems to be working as both the Thai and Cambodian governments are struggling economically,' said Tita Sanglee, associate fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. 'Failure to lower Thailand's tariff rate will be politically costly.'
But yielding to a ceasefire agreement when the Cambodian threat to take the territorial disputes to the International Court of Justice is still alive, won't likely be accepted by the Thai public or the military, she said.
Cambodia has said it wants the court to help settle the disputed status of four border areas, after a skirmish broke out in May. Thailand doesn't recognise the court's jurisdiction. BLOOMBERG
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