US President Donald Trump has overseen the signing of an expanded ceasefire deal between Thailand and Cambodia, which he helped negotiate this summer to resolve their border dispute.
The ceremony took place shortly after Mr Trump arrived in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur for the ASEAN summit on Sunday, in what he described as a “momentous day”.
“There was a lot of killing. And then we got it stopped, very quickly,” he said before Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul signed the agreement.
“We did something that a lot of people said couldn’t be done,” said Mr Trump. Mr Manet called it a “historic day” and Mr Charnvirakul said the agreement creates “the building blocks for a lasting peace”.
The ceasefire agreement calls for Thailand to release 18 Cambodian soldiers in captivity and for both countries to start withdrawing heavy weapons from the border.
The US president said he had signed economic deals with both nations and was scheduled to finalise a trade agreement with Malaysia later in the day.
During the ASEAN Summit, regional leaders are expected to work on stabilising ties with the US.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and a troupe of ceremonial dancers greeted Mr Trump at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. He paused on the red carpet to dance with the performers before getting into his limousine.
Kuala Lumpur is the first stop of Mr Trump’s week-long trip to the region, which also includes visits to Japan and South Korea.
This includes a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea.
Asked by a reporter whether rare earths were discussed in the US-China talks that began on Saturday, US trade negotiator Jamieson Greer said a wide range of topics were covered, including extending the trade truce.
“I believe we are reaching a point where the leaders will have a very productive meeting,” Mr Greer said.
Mr Trump is also expected to discuss tariffs with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is among the leaders attending the APEC summit.
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East Timor, Asia’s youngest nation, officially became ASEAN’s 11th member on Sunday, fulfilling a vision its current president had nearly 50 years ago, when the country was still a Portuguese colony.
Also known as Timor-Leste, the nation of 1.4 million is among Asia’s poorest and hopes joining the bloc will strengthen its fledgling economy. At roughly $2bn, it represents only a small fraction of ASEAN’s combined $3.8trn GDP.
