Trump kicks off ASEAN Summit by attending Thailand-Cambodia ceasefire ceremony
Kuala Lumpur: Thailand and Cambodia signed an expanded ceasefire agreement on Sunday during a ceremony attended by US President Donald Trump, whose threats of economic pressure prodded the two nations to halt skirmishes along their disputed border earlier this year.
Thailand will release Cambodian prisoners and Cambodia will begin withdrawing heavy artillery as part of the first phase of the deal. Regional observers will monitor the situation to ensure fighting doesn't restart.
“We did something that a lot of people said couldn't be done,” Trump said. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet called it a “historic day,” and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the agreement creates “the building blocks for a lasting peace.”
The ceremony was Trump's first event after arriving at the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), hosted in Kuala Lumpur.
The trip, which will continue with visits to Japan and South Korea and a potential meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, is an opportunity for Trump to burnish his reputation as an international dealmaker at a time when his tariffs have scrambled the international economy and he's feuding with Democrats over a government shutdown back home.
Trump touched down in the Malaysian capital shortly before 0200 GMT (7.30 am IST), where he performed his trademark campaign trail dance with local performers and waved an American flag in one hand and a Malaysian flag in the other.
He's expected to sign agreements with Malaysia involving trade and critical minerals later in the day. The US has been working to expand its supply chains to rely less on China, which has limited exports of key components in technology manufacturing.
Trump is reengaging with a key region of the world.
The president attended this summit only once during his first term, and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth seemed unfamiliar with ASEAN during his confirmation hearing in January.
But this year's event offered a fresh opportunity for Trump to play global peacemaker.
AP