The US President Urges the Thai government to Reaffirm Commitment to Cambodia Truce with Trade Penalties
The United States has applied pressure on the Thai administration to recommit to a ceasefire agreement with Cambodia, indicating that trade negotiations could be halted as efforts are made to prevent a Donald Trump-brokered peace agreement from collapsing.
Rising Border Hostilities
In recent days, Thai officials announced it was putting on hold the truce agreement, alleging Cambodia of planting new explosives along the mutual frontier, including one that reportedly wounded a Thai soldier on duty, who suffered a foot amputation in the blast.
Since then, one person has been killed and multiple individuals injured by gunfire along the border between the two nations, sparking fears of a new round of retaliatory clashes.
American Economic Leverage
On Saturday, a Thai foreign ministry spokesperson informed reporters that a letter from the Office of the US Trade Representative announcing the suspension of trade deal talks was received on Friday night.
The spokesperson referenced the document as stating that discussions on trade – which are focusing on a 19 percent American duty – could resume once Thailand renewed its pledge to implementing the joint ceasefire declaration.
“Trade talks are ongoing and distinct from frontier matters,” said another government spokesperson.
Trump’s Tariff Threat
Addressing reporters on Air Force One as he flew to Florida on the end of the week, the US leader suggested that he had employed tariff warnings in discussions with the south-east Asian leaders.
The US president said, “I stopped a war just today through the use of tariffs, the threat of tariffs,” continuing, “they are performing well. I believe they will be okay.”
Ceasefire Agreement Background
Trump oversaw the signing of a ceasefire agreement, conducted in Malaysian territory this October, and has touted it as one of multiple agreements around the world he says should win him the prestigious peace award.
The most severe clashes in a decade between Thai and Cambodian troops broke out in mid-summer, with exchanges of fire, shelling and aerial attacks leaving dozens of people killed and 300,000 displaced.
Longstanding Border Dispute
The two neighboring countries have a historic territorial disagreement that dates back to disagreements over maps from the colonial period created by French cartographers. Ancient temples along the border are claimed by both sides.
Reuters contributed to this report.
