US to support Cambodian-Thai ceasefire with $45m aid pledge | Border Dispute News

The aid is earmarked to help both countries tackle border stabilization efforts, drug trafficking and cybercrimes.

The US has announced $45 million in aid to bolster a fragile ceasefire brokered by President Donald Trump. Thailand and Cambodia.

U.S. Assistant Secretary for East Asia Michael DeSombre said Friday that the U.S. will offer $20 million to help the two countries combat drug trafficking and cyber scams, which are major concerns in Cambodia.

DeSombre was meeting with senior Thai and Cambodian officials in Bangkok and Phnom Penh on Friday and Saturday to discuss the implementation of the peace accord, according to a senior State Department official.

DeSombre also said $15 million would go toward border stabilization efforts to help people displaced by the recent fighting, as well as $10 million for de-mining and unexploded ordnance clearance.

“The United States will continue to support the Cambodian and Thai governments as they implement the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords and pave the way for a return to peace, prosperity and stability for their people and the region,” Desombre said in a statement.

Desombre was referring to a contract Signed between the two countries In October, the head of the ASEAN regional group, in the presence of Trump during his visit to Malaysia.

The border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand flared up again last month after Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim ended a ceasefire brokered in July to end the previous round of conflict.

Southeast Asian neighbors agreed Another ceasefire on 27 DecemberIt halted 20 days of fighting that killed at least 101 people and displaced more than half a million on both sides.

Thailand has accused Cambodia of violating the latest ceasefire The charge was later withdrawnThe Thai military said it had been contacted by the Cambodian side to clarify that the so-called breach was an accidental fire.

Meanwhile, Cambodia has called on Thailand to withdraw its troops from several border areas claimed by Phnom Penh.

The nations’ long-running conflict stems from a colonial-era demarcation dispute over their 800km (500-mile) border with France, where both sides claim the area and the ruins of a centuries-old temple.

Trump has listed the conflict as one of many wars he says he has resolved as he loudly insists he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize.

After Trump took office, he drastically cut foreign aid, including freezing long-term aid to Cambodia for several months for de-mining, which the administration says will only pay to support U.S. interests.

American citizens have been targeted by financial fraud at scam centers throughout Southeast Asia.

Thailand is a long-time US ally, while the US has sought to improve relations with Cambodia to distance it from strategic rival China.