During his first stop on his Asia tour, US President Donald Trump signed a ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia in Malaysia. The journey is expected to end with talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, as well as Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, signed the ceasefire after a deadly border clash, according to AFP.
According to a statement from Cambodia’s foreign ministry, the deal will free 18 Cambodian prisoners of war.
In July, fighting broke out between Thailand and Cambodia, killing more than 40 people and causing almost 300,000 people to leave their homes.
In late July, the neighbors agreed to a temporary ceasefire, but since then they have been accusing each other of breaking it.
In a joint statement that Trump saw, Anutin and Hun Manet said again that they were “firmly committed to not threatening or using force.”
The accord, which both sides signed and shook hands on, says, “We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to peace and security between our two countries.”
The premiers got a call from Trump.
He remarked, “This is a historic day for all the people of Southeast Asia because we are signing an agreement to end the war between Cambodia and Thailand.”
The president of the US also said that he had made “a major trade deal with Cambodia and a very important critical minerals agreement with Thailand.”
Analysts say that a final, full peace agreement between the Southeast Asian neighbors is still needed.
Mohamad Hasan, Malaysia’s Foreign Minister and ASEAN’s representative in the discussions, claimed that the most recent agreement was mostly about putting regional observers in the areas where the combat is happening.
“We don’t want any more ceasefire violations because there were some minor ones after July 28, even though the ceasefire was in place,” Mohamad stated.
He went on to say, “Both countries need to pull back their heavy weapons from the areas in question, and they also need to work to demine or remove and destroy the mines that have been planted along their borders.”
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