US President Donald Trump said that after Thailand and Cambodia agreed to stop conflicts in the disputed border area, the United States would resume trade negotiations with the two countries and take credit for promoting peace between the two countries after threatening to impose punitive tariffs.
After five days of fighting, including air strikes and shelling, the two Southeast Asian countries reached a ceasefire agreement on Tuesday. The fighting has killed at least 30 people and displaced more than 150,000 people on both sides of their border, which is about 800 kilometers (500 miles) long.
Trump posted on social media on Monday: “I have instructed my trade team to resume trade negotiations.” I’m proud to be the “President of Peace”!
Both of these two countries are facing a 36% tariff imposed by the United States. The tax rate in neighboring Vietnam is 20%, while in Indonesia and the Philippines, it was set at 19% before Trump’s August 1 deadline.
Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Putan Vichayachai said Monday evening that Trump told him in a phone call after the peace talks ended, “We will gain a lot from it.” He will do his best to offer us as much help as possible.
In early Asian trading on Tuesday, the Thai baht slightly dropped to 32.49 against the US dollar, influenced by the general strengthening of the US dollar. The Thai stock market was closed on Monday due to a holiday and is expected to reopen at 10 a.m. local time.
Trump’s remarks are the latest example of US leaders using trade as a way to resolve geopolitical conflicts. He claims that he has pressured trading partners to end the conflict so that they can continue to enter the US market.
In June this year, the United States facilitated an agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, aiming to end the years-long conflict between the two countries. Earlier this year, Trump also claimed that he had facilitated the conflict between nuclear powers India and Pakistan.
Putam and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet held talks in Malaysia on Monday and reached an agreement under the chairmanship of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the chair of ASEAN.
Special envoys from China and the United States also attended the negotiations. A joint statement issued by the three Southeast Asian countries after the talks said that the meeting was “jointly organized by the United States of America and actively participated by the People’s Republic of China.”
In their speeches after the talks, Putam and Honmanay both thanked Anwar, Trump and China for helping to reach a ceasefire.
“It’s a good thing that both the United States and China are involved,” said Titinam Pongsudilak, a professor of political science at Chulalongkorn University. Thailand needs the United States to lower tariffs. And Trump will regard this as a victory.
Earlier this year, after the conflict between Pakistan and India was suspended, Pakistan welcomed Trump’s intervention, while New Delhi challenged Trump’s claim that reaching a trade deal would help to a ceasefire. The two countries are still engaged in trade negotiations.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Trump said that the United States would obtain the country’s mineral rights after reaching an agreement. Congo is the world’s second-largest copper producer and the largest cobalt producer, which makes it play a significant role in Washington’s efforts to reduce its reliance on China’s supply chains, which are essential minerals for various cutting-edge technologies.
