Trump Urges Thailand to Recommit to Cambodia Ceasefire with Trade Penalties
Washington has exerted influence on Thailand to recommit to a truce deal with the Cambodian side, indicating that trade negotiations could be halted as efforts are made to prevent a Trump-mediated peace agreement from falling apart.
Rising Border Hostilities
In recent days, Thai officials announced it was suspending the ceasefire deal, alleging Cambodian forces of laying fresh landmines along the mutual frontier, among them an incident that allegedly wounded a Thai soldier on duty, who lost a foot in the blast.
Since then, one person has been killed and multiple individuals injured by exchanges of fire along the border between the two nations, raising concerns of a new round of retaliatory clashes.
US Trade Pressure
Over the weekend, a representative from Thailand's foreign office informed reporters that a official communication from the U.S. trade office declaring the pause in trade negotiations was obtained on the previous evening.
He quoted the document as saying that discussions on trade – which are addressing a 19 percent American duty – could resume once the Thai government reaffirmed its commitment to implementing the joint ceasefire declaration.
“Tariff negotiations will continue and remain separate from border issues,” stated a different official representative.
Trump’s Tariff Threat
Speaking to the press on Air Force One as he traveled to the Sunshine State on Friday, Trump suggested that he had used the “threat of tariffs” in calls with the ASEAN nation heads.
The US president said, “I stopped a war just today through the use of tariffs, the threat of tariffs,” adding, “they are performing well. I believe they will be okay.”
Ceasefire Agreement Background
Trump oversaw the signing of a peace deal, held in Malaysia this last autumn, and has touted it as one of several deals around the globe he says should earn him the Nobel Peace prize.
The most severe clashes in a decade between Thai and Cambodian troops erupted in July, with exchanges of fire, shelling and aerial attacks leaving dozens of people killed and hundreds of thousands forced to flee.
Longstanding Border Dispute
Thailand and Cambodia have a longstanding border dispute that dates back to conflicts regarding maps from the colonial period created by French cartographers. Ancient temples along the border are disputed by each nation.
Reuters provided input for this coverage.
