🔗 Share this article The US President Urges the Thai government to Reaffirm Commitment to Cambodia Ceasefire with Trade Penalties Washington has exerted influence on the Thai administration to recommit to a ceasefire agreement with the Cambodian side, stating that trade negotiations could be paused as efforts are made to prevent a Donald Trump-brokered peace agreement from falling apart. Border Tensions Escalate In recent days, Thai officials announced it was putting on hold the truce agreement, alleging Cambodia of laying fresh landmines along the shared border, among them an incident that allegedly injured a Thai military personnel on patrol, who suffered a foot amputation in the blast. Following this, one person has been killed and multiple individuals injured by gunfire along the border between the two nations, raising concerns of a new round of tit-for-tat fighting. US Trade Pressure On Saturday, a Thai foreign ministry spokesperson informed reporters that a official communication from the U.S. trade office declaring the suspension of trade deal talks was received on Friday night. He quoted the letter as saying that discussions on trade – which are focusing on a 19 percent American duty – could resume once Thailand reaffirmed its commitment to implementing the joint ceasefire declaration. “Trade talks are ongoing and distinct from frontier matters,” said another government spokesperson. Trump’s Tariff Threat Addressing reporters on Air Force One as he flew to Florida on Friday, Trump suggested that he had used the “threat of tariffs” in discussions with the south-east Asian leaders. He stated, “Today, I prevented a conflict using tariffs, the menace of duties,” continuing, “they are performing well. I believe they will be okay.” Ceasefire Agreement Background Trump oversaw the signing of a peace deal, held in Malaysia this October, and has promoted it as one of multiple agreements around the world he says should earn him the prestigious peace award. The most severe clashes in a decade between Thai and Cambodian troops broke out in July, with gunfire, artillery and airstrikes causing numerous fatalities and hundreds of thousands forced to flee. Historic Frontier Conflict The two neighboring countries have a longstanding border dispute that originates from conflicts regarding maps from the colonial period drawn up by the French. Historic shrines along the border are disputed by each nation. International news agency contributed to this report.