A peace agreement between Cambodia and Thailand has been signed on the sidelines of a summit of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN) in Malaysia.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, alongside US President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, signed the accord during an on-stage ceremony.
This came as Trump arrived in Malaysia for a busy week of meetings with Asian leaders, including stops in Japan and South Korea.
Border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia erupted into a five-day conflict in July that left dozens of civilians dead and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
Trump has taken credit for resolving the conflict. An initial ceasefire brokered in Malaysia was signed on July 28, 2025, after the US President held calls with leaders on both sides and warned both that he would not make trade deals with either if the conflict continued.
In opening remarks at the ceremony where Thailand and Cambodia signed the peace accord, Trump praised his own abilities to broker peace deals, saying that the conflict “was one of the first wars” that he “got involved in.”
“I love doing it. I love … it’s like, I shouldn’t say it’s a hobby, because it’s so much more serious than a hobby, but something that I’m good at, and it’s something I love to do.
“The United Nations should be doing this, but they don’t do it.”
Donald Trump
After the signing, Trump heralded the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia as he described efforts to secure a peace agreement between the countries.
He praised Thailand’s Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodia’s Hun Manet for being respectful toward each other, in stark contrast with how he’s described conflict in the Middle East and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Also, the US President said that observers from ASEAN countries will “be deployed to make sure that the peace prevails and endures,” drawing contrasts with a fragile peace deal between Israel and Hamas.
“I have no doubt that it will. We have another situation like that right now in the Middle East and Gaza. You might have read a little bit about Gaza, and that’s another one we’re very proud of. But we have a lot of people watching that – a lot of people. I think this is a much different kind of a thing.”
Donald Trump
US To Sign Economic Deals With Thailand And Cambodia
Alongside the peace deal between Cambodia and Thailand, Trump disclosed that the United States will ink major economic agreements with both countries.
“We also are signing a major trade deal with Cambodia and a very important critical minerals agreement with Thailand.
“The United States will have robust commerce and cooperation, transactions, lots of them, with both nations, as long as they live in peace.”
Donald Trump
Trump thanked US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who he referred to as “the foremost expert on trade.” He then briefly spoke about additional stops during the trip where trade will top the agenda.
“We’re going to be doing another couple of stops where we’re talking about no war, just pure trade…
“We’ll be stopping at Japan. We’ll be stopping at South Korea.”
Donald Trump
The US President also said that he will speak with Chinese leader, Xi Jinping. The stakes are particularly high for Trump’s sit-down with Chinese leader Xi Jinping next week.
After months of relative calm, the US and China have slapped each other with sweeping trade measures in recent weeks, straining relations between the rival powers.
US Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer expressed optimism for a potential US-China trade deal, telling reporters in Kuala Lumpur that negotiators are “moving forward to the final details of the type of agreement that the leaders can review and decide if they want to conclude together.”
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