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THAILAND AND CAMBODIA: A TRUMP-BROKERED TRUCE FALLS APART  
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Guardian Editorial
December 14, 2025
The Guardian
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_ The US president’s claims to have ended eight conflicts look
shakier than ever as conflict reignites in south-east Asia and the
Democratic Republic of Congo _

Donald Trump looks on as Fifa president Gianni Infantino speaks
before awarding him the Fifa peace prize in Washington., Bonnie
Cash/UPI/Shutterstock

 

When the hastily confected Fifa world peace prize
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was bestowed on Donald Trump last week, the ceasefire in the
Thai-Cambodian border dispute was among the achievements cited. Mr
Trump also boasted of having ended war in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo. He brags of having brought eight conflicts to a close and
has just had the US Institute of Peace renamed in his honour
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Yet the truce between Thailand and Cambodia has already fallen apart.
Half a million residents along the border have fled renewed fighting
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civilians are among at least 27 people killed. Meanwhile, in the east
of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, at least 200,000 people have
fled the advance of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels
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– days after a peace deal was signed in Washington.

On Friday, Mr Trump declared that the two sides had agreed to put down
arms again. But they disagreed
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and fighting continued over the weekend. Bangkok reluctantly agreed to
the July deal because the US wielded tariffs as leverage. Phnom Penh,
in the weaker position, was happier for it to intercede. Thailand then
accused Cambodia – with good evidence
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– of laying new landmines in border areas, injuring several Thai
soldiers. The conflict reignited in early December, with each side
blaming the other.

The territorial dispute between Thailand and Cambodia is more than a
century old and centred on disagreements over colonial-era maps
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The two countries have clashed before over an ancient temple and seen
unrest over who can claim other aspects of heritage. Thailand has also
attacked the proliferation of criminal online scam centres in Cambodia
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What gives the disagreement such potency, however, is that in both
countries nationalist feeling
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has been weaponised for domestic purposes. In Cambodia, where the
longstanding ruler Hun Sen has given way to his son Hun Manet in a
dynastic dictatorship, whipping up anger against its neighbour helps
to legitimise a regime that has little to offer its people.

In Thailand, the long-running clash between the powerful military and
royalist elites and the politician Thaksin Shinawatra, his family and
proxies has been key. In August, a court dismissed his daughter
Paetongtarn Shinawatra as prime minister
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for failing to protect the country’s interests, after a recording of
her discussing the border dispute with Hun Sen was leaked. It captured
her addressing him as “uncle”, promising to “take care of it”,
and denigrating a key military commander – prompting a storm of
outrage. It played to political opponents’ claims that the
Shinawatra family were happy to sell the country’s interests for
personal benefit.

The caretaker prime minister appointed in her stead
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has courted popularity by giving the military free rein in its stated
aim of crippling the Cambodian army. Ahead of promised elections, the
clashes are distracting from governmental woes – including a poor
response to deadly floods – as well as positioning the army as
national champions.

Mr Trump, who predicted that he could settle the renewed conflict
“pretty quickly”, wants instant wins and photo opportunities.
Leaders who fear alienating him may provide handshakes and promises
when pushed to it. But while pressure from powerful external players
can help to push the parties in regional disputes to the negotiating
table, there is a big difference between quick fixes and lasting
peace
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as the airstrikes and rocket attacks along the Thai-Cambodian border
demonstrate.

The Guardian hopes you appreciated this article. Before you close this
tab, we want to ask if you could spare 37 seconds to support our most
important fundraising appeal of the year.

In his first presidency, Donald Trump called journalists the enemy; a
year on from his second victory, it’s clear that this time around,
he’s treating us like one. 

From Hungary to Russia, authoritarian regimes have made silencing
independent media one of their defining moves. Sometimes outright
censorship isn’t even required to achieve this goal. In the United
States, we have seen the administration apply various forms of
pressure on news outlets in the year since Trump’s election. One of
our great disappointments is how quickly some of the most storied US
media organizations have folded when faced with the mere specter of
hostility from the administration – long before their hand was
forced.

While private news organizations can choose how to respond to this
government’s threats, insults and lawsuits, public media has been
powerless to stop the defunding of federally supported television and
radio. This has been devastating for local and rural communities, who
stand to lose not only their primary source of local news and cultural
programming, but health and public safety information, including
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While we cannot make up for this loss, the Guardian is proud to make
our fact-based work available for free to all, especially when the
internet is increasingly flooded with slanted reporting,
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* Donald Trump
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* Thailand
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* Cambodia
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* Thaksin Shinawatra
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* FIFA
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* peace
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