Deadly fighting has broken out between Thailand and Cambodia, weeks after the two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in Malaysia presided over by US President Donald Trump.
Now, a peace deal brokered by President Trump is on the verge of collapse after soldiers from the two Southeast Asian neighbors clashed again on Monday. Clashes continued for a second day, leaving at least 12 people dead on both sides and thousands displaced.
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Five days of fighting in July left nearly 50 people dead and 300,000 displaced before President Trump intervened to broker a ceasefire.
President Trump has claimed to have stopped at least eight wars since taking office in January. But some of the conflicts he claimed to have resolved continue to fester.
Since the US president announced a multi-phase Gaza ceasefire in October, Israel has killed more than 400 Palestinians in violation of the agreement. He brokered an agreement between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda in October, but the fighting is far from over.
What is the Kuala Lumpur Peace Joint Agreement?
Recent clashes threaten to shatter a delicate ceasefire agreement between Cambodia and Thailand. The ceasefire agreement was first agreed to in July, and an expanded version was signed in October at a meeting attended by President Trump.
“I am pleased to announce that, with the involvement of President Donald J. Trump, our two countries have reached an armistice and peace,” Trump wrote in July. “Congratulations, everyone! By ending this war, we have saved thousands of lives.”
The main points regarding the ceasefire are as follows.
In the agreement brokered by Malaysia and the United States, the two countries agreed to reduce military tensions, including removing heavy weapons and landmines from their borders under ASEAN supervision. The two countries also agreed to end the online information warfare that fueled the conflict. However, since October, several new clashes and mutual accusations have threatened the ceasefire. Last month, Thailand announced it would suspend implementation of the agreement after a landmine explosion injured one of its soldiers.
Analysts told Al Jazeera that the fragile ceasefire was “forced” by President Trump’s tariff threats.
“For all of us who are keen observers, the ceasefire was forced by the Trump administration and Trump’s involvement,” Virak Ou, founder of the Cambodian think tank Future Forum, told Al Jazeera.
The Thai military, which plays a powerful role in Thailand’s political landscape, “was not happy” when Trump became involved, Oh said. He added that the ASEAN Monitoring Mission has not been given sufficient resources to enforce a ceasefire agreement, while rising nationalism in both countries is also fueling the flames of conflict. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a group of 11 regional countries.
“What I fear is that we’re potentially going to see a much longer and deeper battle. And it could last much longer and have much more serious consequences,” Ou said.
What wars does President Trump claim to have stopped? Did any of the ceasefires survive?
The President of the United States claims to have played a role in stopping or resolving wars and conflicts by:
• Clashes on the border between Thailand and Cambodia
• Agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan
• Agreement between Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo
• Ceasefire between Israel and Iran
• Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza
• Ceasefire between India and Pakistan
• Egypt-Ethiopia tensions
• Conflict between Serbia and Kosovo.
Some of the wars that Trump claims to have ended are ones he himself participated in. His role in some other ceasefires is disputed. Still, there are other disputes in which officials acknowledge he played an important role as a mediator.
President Trump said he deserved to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in ending the war.
While America’s weapons and its ironclad diplomatic support for Israel have been crucial in Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, President Trump is widely believed to have put more pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war than his predecessor, Joe Biden.
The war between Iran and Israel ended in June with a ceasefire brokered by President Trump. But the United States was also an active participant in the conflict, which began with Israel attacking Iranian nuclear facilities, killing scientists, and bombing residential areas.
President Trump participated by ordering the military to attack three Iranian nuclear facilities. Before the ceasefire was announced, Iran hit back by attacking the Middle East’s largest US military base in Qatar.
In May, India and Pakistan engaged in a dogfight in which they bombed each other’s military bases. India said it also attacked Pakistan and a “terrorist” base in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, but Pakistan claimed India had killed dozens of civilians.
Eventually, President Trump announced a ceasefire after four days of fighting. However, while Pakistan credits the US president with helping to stop the fighting, India maintains that the president had no role.
Hostilities between Cambodia and Thailand ended with the mediation of President Trump as well as Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and the Chinese negotiating delegation. So far, only Cambodia has appreciated President Trump’s role.
Relations between Serbia and Kosovo have been strained since the early 2000s. The European Union and NATO have always been important intermediaries in the region. Kosovo and Serbia signed an agreement in 2020 during President Trump’s first term. Although relations remain strained, the two countries have not been involved in a full-scale war since President Trump returned to power.
President Trump says he has ended the war between Egypt and Ethiopia. But the two countries have never been to war, despite tensions, particularly over hydroelectric dams opened on tributaries of the Nile.
Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo signed a peace agreement in June brokered by President Trump. The ceasefire is fragile and tensions between the two countries remain high. The DRC on Tuesday accused Rwanda of violating the peace agreement.
In August, President Trump oversaw a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan from the White House that promises to end a conflict that has erupted into war on multiple occasions since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. However, in a subsequent interview with Fox & Friends, President Trump seemed confused about the countries he had brokered. He told his hosts that he had ended the war between Azerbaijan and Albania.
