Thai, Cambodian Leaders Set for Peace Talks Nudged by Trump
Thailand's Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet are scheduled to meet in Kuala Lumpur at 3 p.m. local time, according to Thai government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub. The gathering will be at the office of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who as the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is facilitating the dialogue, he said.
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Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Thai-Cambodia evacuees hail truce news with mixed emotions
Counting down the minutes to midnight when a truce with Cambodia is due, Thai evacuee Jeanjana Phaphan is full of a fragile hopes and doubts that peace will prevail. "I'd be so happy if the ceasefire really happens," said 48-year-old farmer Jeanjana, who fled her frontier home in Phanom Dong Rak district with her three-year-old son a few days ago. "If it's truly ending, I'm overjoyed —- the happiest I've felt in a long time," she told AFP at a shelter in Surin city, 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the border. Thailand and Cambodia's leaders have agreed an "unconditional" ceasefire will begin at midnight on Monday, following five days of combat along their jungle-clad frontier that has killed at least 38 people. Nearly 300,000 people have fled as the two sides fired artillery, rockets and guns in a battle over long-disputed areas home to a smattering of ancient temples. News of the ceasefire sent a ripple of relief, measured with a degree of scepticism, through those who fled since the fighting erupted last Thursday. "If our two countries keep fighting, the hardship and loss will only grow," Jeanjana said. "When I hear neighbours say their roof was pierced by bullets, it makes me heavy-hearted. The sound of people crying from loss is truly heartbreaking," she added with a trembling voice and tear-brimmed eyes. "People on that side are civilians too, just like us. On our side we're just farmers -- and I believe they are farmers like us too. Ordinary people working to survive." - 'I still have doubts' - The peace deal was agreed in Malaysia, under the mediation of its Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim following interventions by US President Donald Trump and Chinese negotiators. But sitting on a straw mat next to his wife, 68-year-old farmer Tee Samanjai is thinking not about those high-table talks, but his normal life back on his farm. "The first thing I'll do when I get home is check on the chickens, fertilise the rice, and take care of the fields," he said. But his anticipation to return is also clouded with doubt. The past week's clashes have been the deadliest since 2008-2011 over the territory, claimed by both sides because of a vague demarcation made by Cambodia's French colonial administrators in 1907. "I still have doubts that Cambodia will follow through with what they agreed to," Tee said. "We may go home, but with unease. There's no peace of mind. I want to go back, but I don't trust Cambodia at all. No one in our village does." Just over the border in Cambodia, camped out at a temple evacuation site in Phumi Bak Thkav, farmer Say Yoeun has much in common with his Thai counterpart. "I am not happy to stay somewhere like this," said the 55-year-old. "I miss my home and livestock -- and I cannot take care of my paddy field." Cambodian and Thai commanders are due to meet early Tuesday morning if the truce holds, before villagers can return to their homes and start counting the cost of the conflict. For Thai Kavindhra Tiamsai, who evacuated her mother from the conflict zone, the fighting has revealed how locals on the fringes of both countries are marginalised by their governments. "A ceasefire is a good option but also the minimum," the 33-year-old said. "What we need is a comprehensive, grounded plan that speaks to the realities of rural life." "One that doesn't assume evacuation is easy -- or even possible -- when most families have no transport, no money to buffer, and no safety net to lean on." burs/jts/dhw
News24
14 minutes ago
- News24
US-China officials meet in Stockholm to avert trade war as tariff truce expires
US and Chinese officials met in Stockholm on Monday to resume economic talks aimed at extending their trade truce by three months before the 12 August deadline. The talks focused on maintaining critical mineral flows and preventing supply chain disruption rather than seeking major breakthroughs. Deeper structural economic issues remain unaddressed in these negotiations, including US complaints about China's export-driven model flooding markets with cheap goods and China's concerns about US tech export controls. Top US and Chinese economic officials met in Stockholm on Monday to resume talks to resolve longstanding economic disputes at the centre of a trade war between the world's top two economies, aiming to extend a truce by three months. US Treasury Chief Scott Bessent was part of a US negotiating team that entered Rosenbad, the Swedish prime minister's office in central Stockholm in the early afternoon. China's Vice Premier He Lifeng was also seen arriving at the venue on video footage. China is facing a 12 August deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with President Donald Trump's administration, after Beijing and Washington reached preliminary deals in May and June to end weeks of escalating tit-for-tat tariffs and a cut-off of rare earth minerals. Without an agreement, global supply chains could face renewed turmoil from US duties snapping back to triple-digit levels that would amount to a bilateral trade embargo. US trade representative Jamieson Greer said that he did not expect 'some kind of enormous breakthrough today' at the talks in Stockholm that he was attending. 'What I expect is continued monitoring and checking in on the implementation of our agreement thus far, making sure that key critical minerals are flowing between the parties and setting the groundwork for enhanced trade and balanced trade going forward,' he told CNBC. The Stockholm talks come hot on the heels of Trump's biggest trade deal yet with the European Union on Sunday for a 15% tariff on most EU goods exports to the United States, including autos. Trade analysts said that another 90-day extension of a tariff and export control truce struck in mid-May between China and the United States was likely. An extension would facilitate planning for a potential meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in late October or early November. The Financial Times reported on Monday that the US had paused curbs on tech exports to China to avoid disrupting trade talks with Beijing and support Trump's efforts to secure a meeting with Xi this year. Deeper issues Previous US-China trade talks in Geneva and London in May and June focused on bringing US and Chinese retaliatory tariffs down from triple-digit levels and restoring the flow of rare earth minerals halted by China and Nvidia's H20 AI chips and other goods halted by the United States. So far, the talks have not delved into broader economic issues. They include US complaints that China's state-led, export-driven model is flooding world markets with cheap goods, and Beijing's complaints that US national security export controls on tech goods seek to stunt Chinese growth. 'Geneva and London were really just about trying to get the relationship back on track so that they could, at some point, actually negotiate about the issues which animate the disagreement between the countries in the first place,' said Scott Kennedy, a China economics expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Bessent has already flagged a deadline extension and has said he wants China to rebalance its economy away from exports to more domestic consumption - a decades-long goal for US policymakers. Analysts say the US-China negotiations are far more complex than those with other Asian countries and will require more time. China's grip on the global market for rare earth minerals and magnets, used in everything from military hardware to car windshield wiper motors, has proved to be an effective leverage point on US industries. In the background of the talks is speculation about a possible meeting between Trump and Xi in late October.
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Thai and Cambodian leaders to meet in Malaysia for talks to end deadly border dispute
BANGKOK — Thai and Cambodian leaders will meet in Malaysia for talks to end hostilities, a spokesperson for the Thai prime minister's office said on Sunday. This comes following pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to end a deadly border dispute, now in its fourth day, which has killed at least 34 people and displaced more than 168,000. Jirayu Huangsap said Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai will attend Monday's talks in response to an invitation from Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim 'to discuss peace efforts in the region.' The spokesperson also said Phumtham's Cambodian counterpart Hun Manet will also attend the talks, though this was not immediately confirmed by the Cambodian side. He added that Anwar was acting in his capacity as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, held on an annual rotating basis by its 10 members. Trump posted on Truth Social on Saturday that he spoke to the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia and suggested he would not move forward with trade agreements with either country if the hostilities continued. He later said both sides agreed to meet to negotiate a ceasefire. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said earlier Sunday his country agreed to pursue an 'immediate and unconditional ceasefire.' He said Trump told him that Thailand had also agreed to halt attacks following the U.S. president's conversation with Phumtham. He said he tasked his deputy, Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, to coordinate next steps with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and to engage directly with Thailand's foreign minister to implement the ceasefire. Thailand expressed cautious support. Phumtham thanked Trump and said that Thailand agreed in principle to a ceasefire but stressed the need for 'sincere intention' from Cambodia, the Thai Foreign Ministry said. Phumtham called for swift bilateral talks to discuss concrete steps toward a peaceful resolution, it said. The fighting flared Thursday after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers. Both sides blamed each other for starting the clashes. Both countries recalled their ambassadors and Thailand closed its border crossings with Cambodia. Despite the diplomatic efforts, fighting continued Sunday along parts of the contested border, with both sides refusing to budge and trading blame over renewed shelling and troop movements. Col. Richa Suksowanont, a Thai army deputy spokesperson, said Cambodian forces fired heavy artillery into Surin province, including at civilian homes, early Sunday. He said Cambodia also launched rocket attacks targeting the ancient Ta Muen Thom temple, claimed by both countries, and other areas in a bid to reclaim territory secured by Thai troops. Thai forces responded with long-range artillery to strike Cambodian artillery and rocket launchers. Richa said Trump's efforts to mediate were a 'separate matter.' The battlefield operations will continue and a ceasefire can only happen if Cambodia formally initiates negotiations, he added. 'Any cessation of hostilities cannot be reached while Cambodia is severely lacking in good faith and repeatedly violating the basic principles of human rights and humanitarian law,' Thailand's Foreign Ministry said separately. Cambodian Defense Ministry spokesperson Lt. Gen. Maly Socheata accused Thai forces of escalating the violence with bombardment of Cambodian territory early Sunday, followed by a 'large-scale incursion' involving tanks and ground troops in multiple areas. 'Such actions undermine all efforts toward peaceful resolution and expose Thailand's clear intent to escalate rather than de-escalate the conflict,' she said. Thailand on Sunday reported a new death of a soldier, bringing the total number of fatalities to 21, mostly civilians. Cambodia said 13 people have been killed. More than 131,000 people in Thailand have evacuated to safe locations and over 37,000 people fled from three Cambodian provinces. Many border villages are mostly deserted, with many schools and hospitals shut. Pichayut Surasit, an air-conditioning technician in Thailand, said the sudden outbreak of fighting meant leaving his work in Bangkok to return home to protect his family. 'I didn't have the heart to continue with my work when I heard the news. I wanted to come back as soon as possible, but I had to wait until the evening,' he said. Now at a shelter in Surin housing some 6,000 evacuees, Pichayut worries for his wife and twin daughters, hoping the conflict will end soon so they can return to their home in Kap Choeng district, one of the hardest hit by shelling. Bualee Chanduang, a local vendor who moved to the same shelter Thursday with her family and pet rabbit, is counting on swift negotiations to end the violence. 'I pray for God to help so that both sides can agree to talk and end this war,' she said. The U.N. Security Council has called on ASEAN, a regional bloc, to mediate peace between the two members. Human Rights Watch has condemned the reported use of cluster munitions, weapons banned by International law, in populated areas, and urged both governments to protect civilians. The 800-kilometer (500-mile) frontier between Thailand and Cambodia has been disputed for decades, but past confrontations have been limited and brief. The latest tensions erupted in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic rift and roiled Thailand's domestic politics.
