The US President Pressures Thailand to Reaffirm Commitment to Cambodian Truce with ‘Threat of Tariffs’
The United States has applied pressure on Thailand to recommit to a truce deal with the Cambodian side, indicating that trade talks could be halted as efforts are made to stop a Donald Trump-brokered ceasefire arrangement from collapsing.
Rising Border Hostilities
Earlier this week, Thailand declared it was putting on hold the ceasefire deal, accusing Cambodia of laying fresh landmines along the mutual frontier, among them an incident that reportedly wounded a Thai soldier on patrol, who suffered a foot amputation in the blast.
Since then, a fatality occurred and multiple individuals injured by exchanges of fire along the Thai-Cambodia frontier, sparking fears of a fresh wave of retaliatory clashes.
US Trade Pressure
On Saturday, a Thai foreign ministry spokesperson told journalists that a letter from the Office of the US Trade Representative announcing the suspension of trade deal talks was obtained on Friday night.
He quoted the document as stating that trade negotiations – which are addressing a 19 percent American duty – could restart once the Thai government reaffirmed its commitment to implementing the joint ceasefire declaration.
“Tariff negotiations will continue and remain separate from border issues,” said a different official representative.
Trump’s Tariff Threat
Speaking to the press aboard the presidential plane as he flew to Florida on Friday, the US leader suggested that he had employed tariff warnings in calls with the ASEAN nation heads.
The US president said, “Today, I prevented a conflict using tariffs, the menace of duties,” adding, “they are performing well. I believe they will be okay.”
Ceasefire Agreement Background
Trump oversaw the signing of a peace deal, conducted in Malaysian territory this last autumn, and has touted it as one of multiple agreements around the globe he claims should win him the prestigious peace award.
The most severe clashes in a ten years between Thai and Cambodian troops broke out in July, with exchanges of fire, shelling and aerial attacks causing numerous fatalities and 300,000 displaced.
Historic Frontier Conflict
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 frontier are disputed by each nation.
International news agency contributed to this report.
