Trump presides over Thai-Cambodia ‘peace deal’

As everyone knows, this was all about US President Donald Trump.

He was literally above everyone else at the ceremony in Kuala Lumpur where Cambodia and Thailand signed the agreement. He gave the longest speech and made the biggest claims.

All were perfect.

“This is a very important day for Southeast Asia,” Trump said. “It’s a tremendous step forward.”

Describing the two rather shy-looking prime ministers who were about to sign the agreement as “historical figures,” Trump described at length how he became embroiled in the Thailand-Cambodia border dispute while visiting the Turnberry golf course in Scotland in July.

“And I said this is way more important than a round of golf… I could have a lot of fun, but this is way more fun… saving people and countries.”

Trump had requested the special ceremony as a condition of attending the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit, which U.S. presidents have occasionally, but not always, attended in the past. And he used this to press for his campaign to be recognized as a great pacifist.

“The eight wars my administration has ended in eight months, there has never been anything like this,” he said. “We average one a month… I wouldn’t say it’s a hobby, because it’s much more serious, but it’s something I’m good at and love doing.”

So what does the “Kuala Lumpur Peace Agreement,” as Trump has renamed it, actually mean?

Remember, both countries signed a ceasefire in July.

This was made easier, or at least accelerated, by Trump’s pressure.

However, when we look at the details of the last agreement, we see that it is not a forward-looking step.

The two countries agreed to withdraw their heavy weapons from the disputed border and establish a temporary observer team to monitor the border.

They have a new procedure to clear landmines and will set up what they call a joint task force to combat the proliferation of fraud centers.

They will replace the missing border signs with temporary ones.

This is progress, and Thai diplomats told me they think Trump’s involvement could help make these agreements permanent.

But historic differences at the border remain unresolved and are at risk of reigniting.

Following the ceremony, Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow refused to call it a peace agreement; instead they preferred their preferred title, “Joint declaration of the Prime Ministers of Thailand and Cambodia on the results of their meeting in Kuala Lumpur”; This doesn’t go unnoticed either.

As far as Sihasak was willing to go, saying “I would call it a path to peace” was a far cry from Trump’s sweeping claims to that effect.

“It’s an extremely tenuous deal for the president of the United States to preside,” said Sebastian Strangio, author and South East Asia Editor of Diplomat magazine.

Cambodia was much more willing, but always sought to internationalize its dispute with Thailand – taking the matter to the International Court of Justice – something Thailand did not agree to.

At the ceremony, Prime Minister Hun Manet praised the US president and reminded him that his government had nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charvirakul was more cautious; He was aware of nationalist pressure not to give too much to Cambodia; The authoritarian government in Cambodia need not worry.

Thailand has always insisted that the dispute should be resolved bilaterally, without outside mediation.

He says he appreciates Trump’s support and notes that the United States and Malaysia only “facilitated” this deal.

Neither the country nor the rest of Asean could afford to turn down Trump’s request for a ceremony.

Southeast Asia is the world’s most export-dependent region and is much more dependent on the US market than China.

It’s been a difficult year, living under the existential threat posed by Trump’s initial tariffs (up to 48 percent) and going through exciting negotiations to reduce them to a more manageable 19-20 percent.

Trump doesn’t even stay for most of the Asean summit.

After a few bilateral meetings and a dinner, he heads out of Japan and then heads to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meeting; It’s another multilateral grouping at odds with his ruthless transactional style, but here he hopes to reset relations with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

But Asean hopes the US president’s 24-hour presence in Kuala Lumpur will help restore some stability to its relations.