Cambodia and Thailand sign joint peace declaration

 
Cambodia and Thailand on Sunday signed a joint declaration on peace on the sidelines of the 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in the Malaysian capital, reports CGTN.

The declaration was signed by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.

At the signing ceremony, Hun Manet said Cambodia reaffirms its strong commitment to fully implementing the joint declaration and to continuing close cooperation with Thailand and all partners to ensure lasting peace that brings tangible benefits to people in both countries.

For his part, Anutin said the declaration, if fully implemented, will provide the building blocks for lasting peace and, more importantly, will help mend Thai-Cambodian ties.

Armed clashes between Cambodian and Thai forces broke out on July 24 along their border. The clashes have resulted in more than a hundred deaths and injuries.

On August 7, at an extraordinary meeting held in Malaysia, the two ASEAN member states agreed on the details of a ceasefire and signed an agreement, pledging to maintain current troop deployments without further movement and not to increase forces along the border.

US President Trump declared today that he had presided over the signing of a "historic" peace deal between Thailand and Cambodia. 

But as our South East Asia correspondent writes, historic differences between the two countries remain despite Donald Trump's superlatives.
Thailand's foreign minister even refused to call it a peace agreement, preferring instead to term it "a pathway to peace". 

We've got a full rundown on what was said on all sides, as Trump told reporters making peace deals is a "hobby" while gathering praise from the Cambodian prime minister for his "decisive leadership". 

For Trump, trade deals have become a useful diplomatic tool to pressure countries into peace deals, our reporter at the summit writes.
And, while Trump presided over the so-called "peace deal" signing ceremony, his trade representatives have been gearing up for business talks with China's Xi Jinping in coming days. They told reporters that the "final details" of a trade deal have been thrashed out. 

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