The US President Urges Thailand to Recommit to Cambodian Ceasefire with ‘Threat of Tariffs’
The United States has applied pressure on Thailand to recommit to a ceasefire agreement with Cambodia, indicating that trade talks could be paused as attempts are made to prevent a Trump-mediated ceasefire arrangement from falling apart.
Rising Border Hostilities
In recent days, Thailand announced it was putting on hold the truce agreement, accusing Cambodian forces of laying fresh landmines along the mutual frontier, among them an incident that allegedly injured a Thai military personnel on duty, who suffered a foot amputation in the blast.
Since then, one person has been killed and several others wounded by gunfire along the border between the two nations, raising concerns of a new round of retaliatory clashes.
US Trade Pressure
On Saturday, a representative from Thailand's foreign office informed reporters that a official communication from the Office of the US Trade Representative declaring the pause in trade negotiations was obtained on the previous evening.
The spokesperson referenced the letter as saying that discussions on trade – which are focusing on a 19 percent American duty – could resume once Thailand reaffirmed its commitment to carrying out the mutual truce agreement.
“Tariff negotiations will continue and remain separate from border issues,” said another government spokesperson.
President’s Economic Warning
Speaking to the press aboard the presidential plane as he flew to Florida on Friday, Trump implied that he had employed tariff warnings 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,” continuing, “they are performing well. I believe they will be okay.”
Truce Deal Origins
Trump oversaw the signing of a peace deal, conducted in Malaysian territory this October, and has promoted it as one of multiple agreements around the globe he says should win him the Nobel Peace prize.
The worst fighting in a ten years between Thai and Cambodian troops erupted in July, with gunfire, artillery and airstrikes causing numerous fatalities and hundreds of thousands forced to flee.
Historic Frontier Conflict
The two neighboring countries have a longstanding border dispute that dates back to disagreements over maps from the colonial period drawn up by the French. Historic shrines along the frontier are disputed by each nation.
Reuters provided input for this coverage.
