President Donald Trump called on the United Nations to take a more active role in promoting global peace amid the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, Breitbart reports.
In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump said the two Southeast Asian nations had agreed to halt their fighting temporarily, and will return to “living in peace, as per our recently agreed to original Treaty.”
Trump praised both countries’ leaders for reaching an agreement quickly. “It was FAST & DECISIVE, as all of these situations should be!” he said, adding that the United States was proud to play a role in mediating the process. He went on to claim that, after resolving numerous conflicts over the past year, the U.S. may have become the “real United Nations,” since the official organization has offered “very little assistance or help” in recent crises—including the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. He urged the U.N. to take stronger action in promoting global peace efforts.
According to a Saturday report from the Associated Press, Thailand and Cambodia have been engaged in border clashes for several weeks, stemming from disagreements over long-contested territory. The report noted that an initial ceasefire in July was brokered by Malaysia with strong encouragement from Trump, who allegedly threatened to suspend trade privileges unless both nations reached an accord. That ceasefire was formalized at a regional summit in Malaysia in October, attended by Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
When the border skirmishes flared again earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced concern on behalf of the administration. “We strongly urge an immediate end to hostilities, the protection of civilians, and a return to the de-escalation measures laid out in the October 26 Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords,” Rubio said in a statement cited by Breitbart News.
The latest confrontation centers on a boundary dispute dating back 118 years. As Breitbart reported, tensions trace back to 1907, when Cambodia was under French colonial control. Thailand has long argued that the borders drawn at the time were inaccurate, while Cambodia has defended the existing demarcation as legally valid. Cambodia gained independence from France in 1953, but the disagreement over the shared frontier has resurfaced repeatedly ever since.
In a speech delivered in September, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres commended Trump’s peace-brokering efforts across the globe, according to Breitbart. The same outlet also reported that the Cambodian government nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize in August.