Description: Malaysian Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, announced that Thailand and Cambodia, after approximately four hours of negotiating, have reached a ceasefire agreement and stopped armed hostilities. The mediation efforts arrived on the back of growing pressure from US President Donald Trump and facilitation efforts from China. Foreign representatives from the US and China were also reportedly present at the meeting where Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai concluded their discussions and vowed to maintain the ceasefire agreement. According to the joint statement from the meeting, the countries have guaranteed continued negotiations towards potentially resolving the border dispute as their military commanders were expected to engage in discussions on Tuesday, 29 Jul. Malaysia alongside Thailand and Cambodia would be directly included in developing a sustainable mechanism for implementation and monitoring of the ceasefire agreement. Trump reportedly instructed his administration’s trade team to reengage in trade talks with both countries as the conflict was announced concluded. According to the latest information, the four-day conflict internally displaced more than 270 thousand people in both countries and resulted in forty casualties in total on both sides.
Impact: The ceasefire agreement recalibrated bilateral relations between Thailand and Cambodia as both countries have confirmed their commitment towards developing a sustainable peace implementation and monitoring mechanisms. Malaysia’s mediation efforts were only formal as evident pressure has been applied from the US and China for the cessation of the armed confrontation, with foreign representatives from both countries present at the meeting. The initial agreement fails to outline precise and concrete commitments from both countries towards resolving their decades long border disputes which poses a low risk factor to the ceasefire commitments, however, it forms a stabile baseline for developing a constructive platform for diplomatic engagement. The US and China are expected to continue applying pressure on each side, with Cambodia leaning towards its Chinese allies while Thailand counting on support from the US, which would position the countries on a diplomatic course towards resolving their bilateral disputes. The conflict highlights the geopolitical proxy war between China and the US in the region, with each of the global powers exercising their influence and soft power capital, while forwarding their national interests on a regional level.