President Donald Trump presided over the signing of a peace declaration between Thailand and Cambodia, beginning his weeklong, high-stakes diplomatic tour of Asia in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur.
Trump had flown to Malaysia to attend the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), where he also signed separate trade deals on Sunday with Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia as well as agreements on critical minerals with Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.
A peace declaration between Cambodia and Thailand, which expanded on a ceasefire agreement reached in July, which brought deadly border clashes to an end, was the highlight of his appearance.
The agreement was overseen by Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who currently chairs ASEAN, and the prime ministers of the ASEAN neighbors, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet.
While the regional leaders hailed the ceasefire as “historic”, the differences between them run deep with decades-long disputes over their border and temples claimed by both sides.
What’s the deal, then, and is there a guarantee of a ceasefire?
What do we know about the peace agreement?
The neighbors’ “unwavering commitment to peace and security” and “unwavering commitment to an immediate halt to hostilities” were reiterated in a joint statement released on Sunday by the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia, confirming their earlier commitment to refrain from using force and respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The most thorough attempt to put an end to the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia along their disputed border has been made by Trump, as Trump has called it.
At the core of the deal is a plan for military de-escalation under ASEAN members ‘ supervision. With the approval of a new ASEAN Observer Team (AOT), the two parties agreed to remove large weapons from border areas and return them to their regular bases.
The agreement addressed a “information war” that has recently erupted and heightened tensions in both nations, in addition to military measures. Bangkok and Phnom Penh pledged to refrain from spreading false or inflammatory claims through official or unofficial channels.
Both countries have agreed to resume normal diplomatic relations and coordinate local-level discussions through established bodies like the Joint Boundary Commission and the General Border Committee.
One of the key factors leading to the recent round of fighting was the commitment to coordinate and implement humanitarian de-mining in the border regions.
Upon fulfilment, Thailand has undertaken to release 18 Cambodian soldiers captured during this year’s fighting.
Which response has the other side given?
Anutin said Bangkok stands for peace and “this declaration, if fully implemented, will create the building blocks for a lasting peace”.
Hun Manet referred to the joint declaration’s signing as a “historic day.”
According to Anutin, “it will kick off the restoration of our ties,” adding that “innocent civilians have suffered significant losses.”
Anwar said the agreement “reminds us that reconciliation is not concession but an act of courage”.
Trump has the longest speaking career.
Trump said, “Everyone was sort of surprised that we got the [the ceasefire] done so quickly,” while seated with the regional leaders in front of a backdrop covered in the words “Delivering Peace.”
“My administration immediately began working to prevent the conflict from escalating”, he added, recalling how he had learned of the fighting while visiting his Turnberry golf course in Scotland in July.
Trump continued, “I said this is much more important than a round of golf,” noting that “I could have had much fun doing this, saving people and saving countries.”
Trump bragged that there has never been another war like the eight that my administration has ended in eight months. “It’s like, I shouldn’t say it’s a hobby, because it’s so much more serious, but something I’m good at and something I love to do”.
What was the fighting about?
Thailand and Cambodia have had the worst relations in decades.
The conflict between the Southeast Asian neighbors has long been a source of tension due to its 800 km (nearly 500 km) border. Both sides dispute demarcations drawn in 1907 during French colonial rule in Cambodia.
The border regions are home to numerous ancient temples, some of which both sides claim. Communities on both sides of the border that share ancestry and heritage also reside in the conflicted areas.
In February, a dispute over Prasat Ta Moan Thon, a Khmer temple, flared up after Thai police reportedly stopped Cambodian tourists from singing their national anthem at the contested site.
After a Cambodian soldier was killed in a border dispute in May, there were more escalations and a full-fledged diplomatic crisis.
The fighting then grew even more severe in late July, with numerous fatalities reported on both sides over the course of five days. At least 300, 000 people were displaced on both sides.
Trump contacted both leaders, saying he would not negotiate trade deals with them if the fighting continued. Both nations’ export markets are dominated by the US.
However, tensions came to the fore again in August when Thai soldiers were injured by landmines while patrolling a buffer zone between the countries. Cambodia allegedly laid new mines in violation of the ceasefire, a claim that Phnom Penh vehemently refuted.
De-mining along the border and the elimination of heavy weapons are now included in the expanded peace agreement.
What is the current situation on the ground?
The current truce is still fragile because of local disagreements and conflicting political views in both nations.
Both of their prime ministers thanked Trump for his actions at the ceremony on Sunday. Hun Manet also reminded Trump that his government had nominated the US president for the Nobel Peace Prize, an international recognition that Trump campaigned for , but did not get when this year’s prizes were handed out this month.
The countries’ land border crossings were closed as a result of the tensions, which still impede bilateral trade, which reached $ 10.45 billion last year.
Hun Sen, Cambodia’s former longtime leader, and Hun Manet’s father, filed a complaint with the UN earlier this month about “intense, high-pitched noises” being broadcast across the border.
The still powerful Hun Sen said Thailand was broadcasting ghost-like sounds from its Sisaket province, and the Cambodian Human Rights Committee accused Thailand of “engaging in psychological warfare”.
Since October 10, the committee has blasted high-decibel sounds from “ghosts,” wailing children, howling dogs, and roaring helicopters through loudspeakers at night.
According to The Nation newspaper, Thai social media activist Kannawat Pongpaibulwech, also known as Kan Chompalang, is responsible for the nightly sound explosions at Ban Nong Chan and Ban Nong Ya Kaew in Sisaket province.
Kannawat, who had received permission from the Thai army regiment overseeing security in the border province to carry out the campaign, said he aimed to drive out Cambodian settlers encroaching on Thai territory.
Anutin claimed that the tactic violated no fundamental human rights. He claimed that we had to defend our sovereignty.
The ceasefire will it continue?
The joint declaration, according to Chheang Vannarith, a political analyst and the head of Cambodia’s National Assembly Advisory Council, is “a positive, significant step toward the restoration of peace and normalcy” in the area.
“The ceasefire will hold, but the international community must keep closely monitoring the implementation”, Vannarith said, adding that Trump’s role has been “decisive” in brokering the deal. He continued, “He has a lot of weight.”
However, he claimed that Bangkok’s tensions could be changed by domestic political manipulation.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor and senior fellow at the Institute of Security and International Studies at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University, said that post-summit, the ASEAN bloc would have to contend with the lasting effects of the Thai-Cambodian conflict over the coming years, “spilling into the Philippines’s turn to chair next year and possibly Singapore’s in 2027 when ASEAN turns 60”.
The respective governments of Thailand and Cambodia “appear intent and incentivized to stoke the flames of nationalism for domestic political gains,” he said despite progress being made in negotiations to lower the tensions and restart border talks.
Anutin, according to Thitinan, “will likely try to use domestic anti-Cambodian feelings and reactions to gain electoral advantage ahead of a new poll by the second quarter of next year.”
In Cambodia, Hun Manet could rally anti-Thai grievances and resentments to maintain political control and divert attention from allegations involving scam centres and transnational crime based in Cambodia, Thitinan said.
According to Thitinan, “the Thai-Cambodian conflict has become ASEAN’s albatross, and bilateral, ASEAN mechanisms urgently need to be focused on mitigation and resolution.”
Source: Aljazeera
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