Thailand Halts Trump Peace Deal With Cambodia

Gen Pana Klaewplodthuk, Thailand’s commander-in-chief, said “the hostile gesture still exists” and said his military “must suspend all agreements to preserve our right to defend ourselves against unfair attacks”.

While Cambodia heaped praise on Trump for his role, nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize, Thailand has been more reticent.

At a press conference shortly after the deal was signed, Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Thailand’s foreign minister, refused to refer to the deal as the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords – the name given by Trump – instead calling it a “pathway to peace”.

Matthew Wheeler, a senior analyst for Southeast Asia at the International Crisis Group, said he was not surprised that the ceasefire had fallen apart.

“It was predictable that the agreement would break down because it was plainly concluded to placate President Trump on matters unrelated to the conflict, namely, trade and Trump’s desire to be perceived as a peacemaker,” he said.

Malaysia said on Tuesday that it remained committed to ensuring peace between the two countries following the clashes over the summer, which included rockets being fired at Thailand from Cambodia in July.

Gen Mohd Nizam Jaffar, the chief of defence forces in Malaysia, said that if the timelines in the agreement were disrupted, “the situation may regress to what it was before”, but added that his country remained hopeful that the “peace process will continue”.