Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Čánvirakul signed a cease-fire agreement in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Sunday, which has officially end all hostilities between their countries and calls for the development of good and friendly neighborly relations. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and US President Donald Trump also took part in the signing, who also announced the conclusion of a trade pact with Cambodia and an agreement on critical raw materials with Thailand. TASR informs about it according to a Reuters report.
The so-called the Kuala Lumpur peace accords build on a cease-fire that Trump helped broker late this Julywhen the long-standing border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia escalated into an armed conflict. Despite the declared ceasefire, both sides accused each other of violating it.
“We did something that many thought was impossible,” Trump announced at the ceremony, who arrived in Malaysia on Sunday morning as part of his wider tour in Asia participated in the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Even before his arrival, he wrote on the Truth Social social network that he is about to sign a “grand peace agreement”, however, according to the AFP agency, it has not yet taken place.
Hun Manet called Sunday a “historic day” and Čánvirakul said the agreement creates “the foundations for lasting peace”. In accordance with its first phase, Thailand is to release Cambodian prisoners of war and Cambodia will in turn begin withdrawing heavy artillery from the disputed area. Regional observers will monitor the situation to prevent a renewal of fighting.
In July, at least 48 people lost their lives over the course of five days, and hundreds of thousands of others on both sides were forced to leave their homes. It was one of the worst fights between Thailand and Cambodia in decades. The head of the White House then called the leaders of both countries and threatened them that if they continued The US will suspend trade negotiations with them.
The border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand concerns the area known as the Emerald Triangleescalated into cross-border skirmishes in May with one victim in the ranks of Thai soldiers and also has political dimensions. In Thailand, the Constitutional Court has suspended Prime Minister Pethongthán Šinavatrová from her duties to start an investigation into the leaked recording of her telephone conversation with the former Prime Minister and the current President of the Senate of the Cambodian Parliament by Hun Sen, in which she criticized the commander of the Thai army.
