Request Also Made to Exclude Chinese Officials
It has been reported that President Donald Trump of the United States has requested the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to arrange a signing ceremony for the Thailand-Cambodia peace agreement, which he would preside over, at the ASEAN Summit scheduled for later this month.
This move is interpreted as President Trump’s attempt to showcase his status as a ‘peacemaker’ on the international stage, particularly as he has recently shown a strong desire to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
According to Politico, a U.S. political news outlet, on October 8 (local time), multiple sources reported that the White House has made President Trump’s presiding over the Thailand-Cambodia peace agreement signing ceremony a condition for his attendance at the ASEAN Summit, which will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from October 26 to 28.
The White House has also reportedly demanded that Chinese government officials not be allowed to attend the signing ceremony.
If this signing ceremony takes place, President Trump will have the opportunity to publicly claim on the international stage that he played a decisive role in ending the armed conflict between the two countries, which resulted in 43 deaths over five days in late July.
At that time, President Trump pressured both Thailand and Cambodia into a ceasefire by using the suspension of trade negotiations as leverage. The Cambodian government also nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize, stating that the ceasefire was achieved through his mediation in August.
However, both countries had already agreed to a ceasefire at the end of July through mediation led by Malaysia, the ASEAN chair, and subsequently signed a memorandum in early August confirming the continuation of the ceasefire. In effect, with a ceasefire agreement already in place, the White House is now requesting a ‘photo opportunity’ event featuring President Trump as the main figure.
A senior White House official, responding to these reports, stated, “The President is negotiating a peace agreement,” but added, “This has not been confirmed as a condition for attending the summit.”
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