Trump oversees Thailand-Cambodia ceasefire signing as Asia tour gets under way | US foreign policy

The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia signed an enhanced ceasefire agreement on Sunday in the presence of Donald Trump, who helped bring an end to a deadly five-day border conflict in July.

Shortly after Trump’s arrival, the US president watched Cambodian prime minister Hun Manet and Thai prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul sign an extended ceasefire at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (Asean) annual summit in Malaysia.

The agreement included Thailand releasing 18 detained Cambodian soldiers and both sides beginning to remove heavy weapons from the border area.

The agreement builds on a ceasefire reached three months ago after Trump called the two countries’ then-leaders and urged them to end hostilities or risk suspending trade talks with Washington.

After the ceasefire ceremony, Trump signed an agreement on mutual trade with Cambodia and an agreement with the United States on critical minerals with Thailand. A White House official said Trump will also sign a critical mining agreement with Malaysia while in Kuala Lumpur.

Trump began a five-day trip to Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, his first visit to the region since taking office in January. He is expected to participate in high-stakes trade talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the last day of his visit.

Trump’s arrival in Malaysia comes on the heels of his announcement on Saturday that the United States would raise tariffs on Canada by 10% in retaliation for an anti-tariff ad sponsored by the Ontario government that has further strained one of the world’s largest trading partnerships.

Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will attend the Asean summit in Malaysia, but Trump told reporters traveling with him that he had no intention of meeting Carney there.

via Reuters and Associated Press