After five days of intense fighting on the most explosive border in Southeast Asia, which left more than thirty dead and nearly 300,000 displaced, Thailand and Cambodia signed a truce in August facilitated by a couple of calls from Donald Trump to the leaders of these two countries. The U.S. president threatened to hit their nations with more tariffs and end trade negotiations if the artillery exchange along the 817-kilometer border did not stop.
The commercial blackmail worked, the conflict subsided, and the Republican scored another point as a great global peacemaker. But Trump's ego still lacked being in the spotlight of a formal peace agreement, as in the summit in Egypt to formalize the peace plan in Gaza, where he was praised by many world leaders.
On Sunday, Trump presided over the ceremonial signing of this peace agreement between Thailand and Cambodia. The U.S. leader has been in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, where he participated in the annual summit of Southeast Asian countries (ASEAN). "These are eight wars that my administration has ended in eight months, something unprecedented. We have an average of one per month. I shouldn't say it's a hobby, because it's much more serious, something I'm good at and love to do," said Trump.
Some regional officials revealed that, from Washington, in exchange for Trump's appearance at this summit, they set the condition of the coveted peace photo with him at the center of the scene, even though, according to the same sources, it was the Malaysian mediators who organized multiple rounds of negotiations and supervised the terms of the joint declaration signed. These terms include the withdrawal of heavy weapons at the disputed border, the deactivation of landmines, and the release of 18 Cambodian soldiers captured by Thai forces. Additionally, Malaysia will deploy soldiers to oversee the peace process.
"This is a momentous day for the peoples of Southeast Asia," Trump said in front of the Cambodian Prime Minister, Hun Manet, and his Thai counterpart, Anutin Charnvirakul. After the peace agreement signing, the American closed other trade deals with his colleagues.
During his speech, Trump made it clear that his administration will continue to use trade agreements as a diplomatic tool to secure peace between conflicting countries. "This is very exciting because we did something that many said couldn't be done and we saved millions of lives with this peace agreement," continued Trump, who was effusively praised by the Cambodian leader, recalling that his government had nominated the American for the Nobel Peace Prize.
This is the second time Trump has taken all the credit for halting a broader war in Asia. He did so with the ceasefire signed in May between India and Pakistan, two nuclear powers that engaged in several days of fighting in the disputed region of Kashmir and several border provinces. Islamabad highlighted Trump's mediating role and campaigned for him to win the Nobel Prize. In contrast, New Delhi stated that the American had no significant role in the ceasefire on this front.
Malaysia has been the first stop on Trump's first Asian tour since returning to the White House earlier this year. On Monday, he will also be in Japan and then go to South Korea, where a long-awaited meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping will take place on Thursday. Xi Jinping has taken advantage of the global trade war chaos unleashed by the American to extend Chinese influence, especially among the developing nations of the Global South, who are key players in the ASEAN summit.
One of the most prominent actors in the Global South is Brazil, which has strengthened its ties with Beijing amid an unprecedented diplomatic crisis with Washington. Another distinguished guest who paraded through Kuala Lumpur was Brazilian leader Lula da Silva, who met with Trump to begin resolving their many differences, starting with the American's support for the convicted former president Jair Bolsonaro. "We should be able to achieve very beneficial agreements for both countries," said the American.
In retaliation for the coup charges against Bolsonaro, the U.S. president imposed a 50% tariff on a large part of Brazilian products. In addition to discussing the trade war and the Brazilian urging his American counterpart to lift the tariffs, Lula said he had raised with Trump his concerns about the U.S. military attacks campaign off the South American coasts in the name of the fight against drug trafficking.
Parallel to the ASEAN summit, fueling the frenetic diplomatic activity in Kuala Lumpur, have been the negotiating teams of USA and China, seeking a trade agreement that Trump and Xi Jinping can seal in their face-to-face meeting.
During the meetings of these teams, China's International Trade representative, Li Chenggang, stated that Beijing and Washington had reached a "preliminary agreement." The Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce also affirmed that both parties had reached a "preliminary" understanding and explored "appropriate proposals to address mutual concerns" during the talks, which he described as "constructive." "The next step will be for each party to comply with their respective internal approval procedures," Li declared.
Before arriving in Malaysia on Sunday, Trump made a brief stop in Qatar for Air Force One to refuel. On board the plane, the U.S. president met with the ruling Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and the Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, with whom he discussed the progress of the Gaza ceasefire agreement. "It's working very well. Everything is going smoothly. The United States doesn't have to intervene much," he stated.
Upon his arrival in Kuala Lumpur, Trump was welcomed by the host, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. The moment went viral on social media because, during the welcome ceremony at the airport, the American danced with a raised fist alongside a group of local artists adding color to his arrival.