Trump’s Peace Deal Blown Up by Landmine After 2 Weeks
Trump had called the accord a “momentous” occasion for the two countries.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
A conflict that Donald Trump has bragged about solving has exploded back into crisis after a soldier was severely wounded by a landmine.
Thailand has suspended the peace accord with Cambodia, signed two weeks ago, that Trump claims he helped negotiate.
The accord was signed between the two countries at a regional summit on Oct. 26, which Trump attended. Thailand now says it will cease taking steps to implement it following the violence.
Two Thai troops were wounded near the border in Sisaket province by a mine. A sergeant lost his right leg, the Royal Thai Army said.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said his government is now pumping the brakes on realizing the agreement in the immediate aftermath. Among the plans being backtracked on is the release of Cambodian prisoners scheduled to be returned next week.
Get the best of The Beast delivered right to your inbox
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
“The hostility towards our national security has not decreased as we thought it would,” he said.
Trump had been chuffed about his role in brokering the peace accord.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
The accord had been negotiated via mediation between Trump and Malaysia. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has also insisted it, not Trump, was the more important factor in the accord.
“The follow-up to the joint declaration that we have been doing for about a week will stop,” government spokesman Siripong Angkasakulkiat said.
Trump has been eager to use the economic might of the U.S. economy as a tool in foreign policy, which was on show last month when he threatened to withhold trade privileges with both nations unless they came to the table and made tangible steps towards peace.
Trump gave the longest speech of all in Kuala Lumpur when the accord was signed. “This is a momentous day for South East Asia,” he said. “A monumental step.”
Implementation of the deal is on ice.
Mohd Rasfan /AFP via Getty Images
During his speech, he regaled the audience with how, during a game of golf in Scotland, he first became involved in the conflict between the two southeast asian nations.
“And I said this is much more important than a round of golf,” he said. “... I could have had a lot of fun, but this is much more fun... saving people and saving countries.”
As part of his appearance at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the BBC reported that Trump demanded the special ceremony to mark the signing of the accord.
“The eight wars that my administration has ended in eight months—there’s never been anything like that,” he said during the summit. “We’re averaging one a month... It’s like, I shouldn’t say it’s a hobby, because it’s so much more serious, but something I’m good at and something I love to do.”
Incidents between Cambodia and Thailand have rumbled through the summer.
Anadolu/Getty Images
During a 60 Minutes interview aired on Nov. 2, Trump presented a list of the conflicts he claims to have been instrumental in bringing to an end.
“But I brought… just a little list, of… look at this… WARS!” he said, amid the web of tangents he had spun himself.
On his list were conflicts between Cambodia and Thailand, Kosovo and Serbia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, Pakistan and India, Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Israel and Hamas.
He said the list only featured “eight of the nine wars” he had ended. He didn’t clarify what the last one was.
Trump has a track record of getting tangled up with remembering the names of places around the world. It even extends to the names of countries when the president of that country is present.
On Nov. 6, with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, there with him, he called the country “ka-ZACK-a-stan.”
The peace accord between Thailand and Cambodia was signed after a five-day conflict between the two nations that claimed the lives of dozens in July.
Despite a ceasefire being agreed earlier this year and a peace hoped for internationally, incidents like this latest landmine have been ever-present. In August, three Thai troops were injured as they patrolled the border. Again, one tripped a landmine, The Guardian reports.
Cambodia has not spoken out on the latest incident.
It is not clear when the landmine was laid, Thai Defense Minister Natthaphon Narkphanit said, according to The Independent.
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
Sign in or create an account
Login dialog
Loading comments…