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Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Sunday signed a peace declaration during the three-day ASEAN Summit in Malaysia, which was overseen by U.S President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, as the current ASEAN chair.
President Trump played a key role in brokering the late-July ceasefire after five days of border clashes that killed dozens and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
“This is a momentous day for all of the people of Southeast Asia as we sign a historic agreement to end the military conflict between Cambodia and Thailand,” Trump said at the ceremony which took place at the summit happening from October 26 to 28.
Trump said America has a strong commitment to stability and peace in this region, and that the 18 Cambodian soldiers would be released. Under the agreement, he said, observers from ASEAN countries, including Malaysia will be deployed to make sure “peace prevails”.
Hun Manet said the deal today marked a historic moment of significance for Cambodia and Thailand, reaffirming their shared convention that peace is always possible when the nations have the courage and wisdom to pursue it together. He thanked Trump for his steadfast commitment to supporting “lasting peace” between Cambodia and Thailand.
“Cambodia reaffirms a strong commitment to fully and faithfully implementing this joint declaration and to continuing to work closely with Thailand and all our partners,” Hun Manet said.
“I strongly hope for the prompt release of our 18 soldiers on humanitarian grounds and as agreed in the joint declaration,” he said.
The peace deal would pave the way for the release of 18 Cambodian soldiers held in Thai custody for more than two months, an issue that has left the public angry in Cambodia.
Meanwhile, Thailand’s Anutin welcomed the agreement, noting that both sides will begin implementing “all the agreed points, in particular, promptly removing heavy weapons from the border areas” in order to ensure the safety of people.
“We have a responsibility to act earnestly and in good faith, and to restore livelihoods and protect the well-being of our communities along our shared border,” he said, adding that they will start the process of releasing the Cambodian soldiers.
In Banteay Meanchey province, Chouk Chey and Prey Chan villages have been flashpoints despite the ceasefire, with Thai forces erecting barricades in long-settled Cambodia villages and ordering residents to vacate homes. Many have been barred from entering their homes for more than two months now.
In addition, Thai soldiers cleared the land on October 21 in Chouk Chey village, which Thailand claims is part of Ban Nong Chan village in Sa Kaeo province.
Following the General Border Committee meeting in Malaysia last week, both sides agreed to withdraw heavy weapons and strengthen cooperation against online scam operations along its shared frontier.
In a separate meeting in Thailand, the parties agreed to reinstall 15 damaged or missing boundary pillars in their original locations and relocate three submerged markers once their new positions are settled.
Independent Phnom Penh-based Asia-Pacific geopolitical analyst Seng Vanly expressed that the ASEAN bloc faces a defining question of whether “its own institutional weakness made it increasingly vulnerable to great-power manipulation”.
He said the inability to manage internal conflicts from the Cambodia-Thailand border dispute, especially the continuing crisis in Myanmar, reveals the opposite.
“If ASEAN were institutionally strong enough to resolve its own problems, it would not be forced into reactive choices between the United States and China,” he observed. Yet, he added, Trump’s recent praise for the Cambodia-Thailand peace deal is being framed by some as “support for ASEAN diplomacy”.
“It is, in truth, opportunistic theatre, an attempt to project U.S. influence while ASEAN’s own mechanisms stand idle,” Vanly said. “If ASEAN had resolved its border tensions through its institutional frameworks, Trump’s gestures would have carried little meaning — ASEAN neutrality can be ‘jeopardized’ by external personalities exploiting internal weakness,” he added.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim thanked both Hun Manet and Anutin for reaching a peace deal, noting that the world needs leaders who strongly promote peace.
“We are delighted to have you as colleagues, as true friends, and you understand the need to secure peace, to save our people, and also the ASEAN position as a region of peace and prosperity,” Anwar said.
