🔗 Share this article

The United States has applied pressure on the Thai administration to reaffirm its dedication to a truce deal with the Cambodian side, stating that trade negotiations could be paused as attempts are made to stop a Donald Trump-brokered peace agreement from falling apart.

Border Tensions Escalate

In recent days, Thai officials announced it was putting on hold the truce agreement, alleging Cambodia of planting new explosives along the shared border, among them an incident that reportedly wounded a Thai military personnel on duty, who suffered a foot amputation in the explosion.

Since then, a fatality occurred and several others wounded by exchanges of fire along the border between the two nations, sparking fears of a new round of tit-for-tat fighting.

American Economic Leverage

Over the weekend, a representative from Thailand's foreign office told journalists that a letter from the Office of the US Trade Representative announcing the pause in trade negotiations was obtained on Friday night.

The spokesperson referenced the document as saying that discussions on trade – which are focusing on a 19 percent American duty – could resume once the Thai government renewed its pledge to carrying out the mutual truce agreement.

“Tariff negotiations will continue and remain separate from border issues,” stated another government spokesperson.

Trump’s Tariff Threat

Speaking to the press aboard the presidential plane as he flew to Florida on the end of the week, the US leader suggested that he had employed tariff warnings in discussions with the south-east Asian leaders.

The US president said, “I stopped a war just today through the use of tariffs, the threat of tariffs,” continuing, “they’re doing great. I think they’re gonna be fine.”

Truce Deal Origins

Trump oversaw the signing of a ceasefire agreement, conducted in Malaysian territory this October, and has promoted it as one of multiple agreements around the globe he claims should earn him the Nobel Peace prize.

The worst fighting in a ten years between Thai and Cambodian troops broke out in mid-summer, with exchanges of fire, shelling and aerial attacks causing numerous fatalities and hundreds of thousands forced to flee.

Historic Frontier Conflict

The two neighboring countries have a historic territorial disagreement that dates back to conflicts regarding maps from the colonial period created by French cartographers. Ancient temples along the border are disputed by each nation.

International news agency contributed to this report.