By Nathan Morley
President Donald Trump on Sunday co-signed a ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia, alongside leaders from Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia, during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Kuala Lumpur.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim joined Trump for the signing ceremony, which formalized a deal aimed at preventing further conflict along the disputed border between Thailand and Cambodia.
The agreement builds on a truce brokered in July, when Trump threatened to impose higher tariffs on both countries unless they ended five days of border fighting that left dozens dead and displaced hundreds of thousands.
Under the first phase of the deal, Thailand will release 18 Cambodian soldiers and begin removing heavy weapons and landmines from the border region.
Malaysian troops will be deployed to monitor the area and help prevent renewed hostilities.
The 500-mile frontier between Thailand and Cambodia has been a source of tension for decades, stemming from a vaguely defined French colonial-era treaty signed in 1907.
The latest flare-up centered on territory near the Laotian border and a region that includes several 1,000-year-old temples from the Angkor Empire. – Vatican News
