Live Reporting
Edited by Emily McGarvey, with Jonathan Head and Tessa Wong reporting from Kuala Lumpur
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Is the Thai-Cambodia agreement really a peace deal?published at 02:36 GMT
Tessa Wong
at the Asean Summit in Kuala LumpurIn just a few hours’ time, we will see the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia sign an agreement. US President Donald Trump has called it a peace deal – but is it really one?
The title of the agreement is the much tamer “Joint Declaration of Relations between Thailand and Cambodia”. Thai officials have taken pains not to call it a peace agreement.
Looking at the terms that have so far been released to the media, the agreement only outlines initial steps to de-escalate the conflict. This includes withdrawing heavy weapons and coming up with mechanisms to jointly remove mines and clearly mark out the borders.
From what we know, there isn’t an actual formal declaration of peace in the agreement – though an immediate cessation of hostilities was already agreed upon in July when they first stopped fighting.
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Trump greeted by flags and fanfare in Kuala Lumpurpublished at 02:25 GMT
Tessa Wong
at the Asean Summit in Kuala LumpurAs the US president walks down the tarmac, a sea of Malaysian and US flags are waved by greeters.
Trump then goes over to a group of Malaysians performing a traditional dance, and he joins in briefly by waving his arms and dancing on the spot.
He takes a pair of flags from the crowd and waves them, before grinning and posing for pictures. The US president appears to be in a jovial mood.
He enters his car along with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and they are now making their way to the summit venue.
Image source, AFP via Getty Images
Image source, Reuters
Image source, AFP via Getty Images -
Trump lands in Malaysia for first leg of Asia tourpublished at 02:07 GMT
Breaking
Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesTrump has just stepped off Air Force One at Kuala Lumpur’s international airport, greeted by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
He is now shaking hands with various Malaysian ministers and senior government officials.
Trump’s first port of call is to oversee a ceremony during which Thailand and Cambodia will sign a deal to normalise relations following clashes at their border in July.
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What happened at Thailand-Cambodia border?published at 01:58 GMT
The latest tensions ramped up in May after a Cambodian soldier was killed in a clash. This plunged bilateral ties to their lowest point in more than a decade.
In the two months that followed, both countries imposed border restrictions on one another. Cambodia banned imports from Thailand such as fruits and vegetables, and stopped importing power and internet services.
Both countries also strengthened troop presence along the border.
Then on 24 July, the simmering tensions between Thailand and Cambodia exploded into a deadly battle at the border. The fighting lasted five days, killing 33 people and displacing tens of thousands.
On 28 July, the two sides agreed to a ceasefire after negotiations in Kuala Lumpur led by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Thailand initially rejected mediation but agreed after US President Donald Trump said tariff negotiations would not proceed until “fighting STOPS”.
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Tight security for summit as city centre is locked downpublished at 01:50 GMT
Tessa Wong
at the Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur
With world leaders here and US President Donald Trump on the way in, Malaysian authorities have marshalled thousands of police officers to ensure there’s tight security in Kuala Lumpur.
The whole city centre is under lockdown with no cars allowed in except official vehicles, police officers on every street corner, and a helicopter patrolling the skies above.
I’m at a nearby city park where an anti-Trump protest had been planned to take place – many in Muslim-majority Malaysia have been critical about US support for Israel in the Israel-Gaza war.
The park is barricaded and completely surrounded by riot police and other officers, but protest organisers have now moved to the main city square, further away.
Authorities said they would not allow the protest to be held here as it was too close to the summit venue and tried to get protesters to move elsewhere.
It’s another example of how Malaysian authorities are determined to not let anything mar what they hope will be a smooth welcome for Trump.
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Asean leaders hope Trump’s presence will bring stabilitypublished at 01:37 GMT
Jonathan Head
South East Asia CorrespondentPresident Trump has made it clear he is interested in one thing at the summit meeting of South East Asian countries – a ceremony, which he requested, where the prime ministers of Thailand and Cambodia will sign an agreement to help mend their relations after their short border war earlier this year.
Trump has described it as a “great peace deal which I proudly brokered”.
However the two countries remain deadlocked over where their shared border lies, and they have agreed only to start steps to demilitarise it, in rushed talks over the past week to produce something to put in this deal.
But the US president’s presence at this summit was important for the 11 member states of Asean.
They include some of the most export-dependent economies in the world, which were badly shaken by Trump’s tariff war – just having him here, albeit for only 24 hours, will, they hope, bring some stability to their relationship with the US.
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Trump says ‘great peace deal’ will be signed in Malaysiapublished at 01:31 GMT
Image source, ReutersImage caption, US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One as he departs for Malaysia
The US president is currently on his way to Kuala Lumpur for the Asean summit, and he’s expected to arrive within the next hour.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that he was on his way to Malaysia to “sign the great Peace Deal, which I proudly brokered between Cambodia and Thailand”.
He added that the deal would be signed immediately upon arrival, “in order to accommodate everyone at this major event”.
The signing had originally been scheduled for later on Sunday, but Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul reportedly requested that it be moved earlier due to the death of Thai Queen Mother Sirikit on Saturday.
Trump said he would meet Thailand’s “wonderful” prime minister upon landing, and offered his condolences to “the great people of Thailand”.
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What is Asean?published at 01:24 GMT
The Association of South East Asian Nations or Asean is an 11-member international body that represents some 600 million people living in the region.
Set up in 1967 by Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore, it was later joined by Brunei, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia. And today, Timor Leste has formally become the 11th member of the bloc.
Asean aims to promote collaboration and co-operation among member states, as well as to advance the interests of the region as a whole, including economic and trade growth.
The summit was an annual affair until 2009, when leaders began meeting twice a year. Member countries take turns every year to chair the two meetings.
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Why is there a ‘peace deal’ signing today?published at 01:17 GMT
Tessa Wong
at the Asean Summit in Kuala LumpurBack in July, the Thailand-Cambodia border war ended with an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire” after days of fighting.
Today’s event will be seen as a way to cement this agreement as the ceasefire hasn’t exactly been sustained, as we’ve noted earlier.
But there could be other reasons. A Politico report said US president Donald Trump refused to attend the summit unless he could preside over a “peace accord” signing ceremony between Thailand and Cambodia, though this has been denied.
Trump’s attendance no doubt has drawn much more attention to the summit, and could act as further encouragement for Thailand and Cambodia to sustain the peace.
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Have Thailand and Cambodia been keeping the peace?published at 01:16 GMT
Though Thailand and Cambodia technically agreed to cease hostilities in July, that hasn’t meant the skirmishes and accusations have stopped.
Just last month, troops exchanged gunfire and launched grenades at each other at the border by Chong An Ma in Thailand and the An Seh military base in Cambodia.
Cambodia has also accused Thailand of conducting “psychological harassment” by broadcasting high-pitched noises and “wailing ghosts” sounds across the border.
The peace talks have not been without hiccups. Last week the Cambodian PM Hun Manet put out a border map claiming it had agreed by both countries. But Thailand said that no agreement had been reached on the map or any temporary demarcations.
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Trump to oversee ‘peace deal’ between Thailand and Cambodiapublished at 01:09 GMT
US President Donald Trump is expected to oversee a formal “peace deal” between Cambodia and Thailand, Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan has said.
The US leader, who will reach the Malaysian capital later on, has largely taken credit for ending a five-day conflict in July in a dispute over sections of the Thai-Cambodian border. Both sides reached a fragile ceasefire after Trump threatened to stop trade talks unless the fighting stopped.
US news site Politico had earlier reported that Trump would only attend Asean if he was able to “showcase his regional peacemaking efforts”. The White House later denied this.
It comes on the back of a ceasefire that Trump brokered between Israel and Hamas earlier this month.
Stay with us for live updates.
