Trump Attends Thailand-Cambodia Peace Deal Signing in Kuala Lumpur

Cambodia and Thailand signed the "Kuala Lumpur Peace Agreement" on Monday, ending a bloody border dispute that has plagued both nations. The signing took place in Malaysia's capital with US President Donald Trump present, marking what leaders called a historic breakthrough in Southeast Asian diplomacy.

The agreement was signed shortly after Trump arrived in Kuala Lumpur for the ASEAN summit. Both countries' prime ministers joined Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim for the ceremony.

Here's how the first phase works: Thailand will release Cambodian prisoners while Cambodia pulls its heavy artillery back from conflict zones. Regional monitors will oversee the implementation to make sure fighting doesn't restart.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet called it a "historic day." His Thai counterpart, Anutin Charnvirakul, said the agreement provides "the foundation for building lasting peace."

Trump was clearly pleased with the outcome. "This is extremely exciting because we accomplished something many people said was impossible to achieve," he told officials from both countries. He added that the move "will save millions of lives" and claimed his administration had "stopped 8 wars in 8 months."

The new agreement builds on a ceasefire reached three months ago. That truce came after Trump called both countries' leaders and pushed them to end the fighting. He warned that their trade talks with Washington would be at risk if the conflict continued.

What struck Trump most was the relationship between the two prime ministers. "What makes me very happy is that the prime ministers of both countries actually like each other," he said. "This is unusual for me - when I work on these agreements, there's usually a lot of hatred."

Trump expressed confidence the peace will hold. "I have no doubt that peace will continue," he said, drawing parallels to recent developments in the Middle East and Gaza, where he said his administration was also "very proud" of progress made.

For Southeast Asia, this agreement removes a significant source of regional instability. The border dispute had the potential to disrupt trade routes and complicate ASEAN's broader integration efforts. Both countries can now focus resources on economic development rather than military positioning along their shared border.