'Trump's peace deals are in pieces': Sushant Sareen reacts as Thailand-Cambodia fighting reignites

Strategic affairs analyst Sushant Sareen on Tuesday took a jibe at US President Donald Trump after armed clashes between Thailand and Cambodia entered a second day. With this, the peace deal brokered by Trump now seems to be under threat. 

In a post on X, Sareen claimed that all the "peace deals" brokered by Trump are in tatters. He further said that the only place a ceasefire holds is where he simply claimed credit for ending the fighting, but not without a colorful moniker for Pakistan. 

"So what happened to Trump brokering peace and stopping the war between Thailand and Cambodia? All his "peace deals" are in pieces. The only place a tense ceasefire holds is where he did nothing but claimed credit for ending the shooting match -- between India and terroristan," he wrote. 

Thailand-Cambodia fighting renews

Since the latest clashes began, at least 10 people have been killed, and thousands have been displaced in the past 48 hours. Violence spread to 6 provinces in northeastern Thailand and 5 provinces in Cambodia's north and northwest. 

As per the Cambodian government, at least 7 of its civilians were killed, and around 20 were injured. Thai officials, however, said that 3 soldiers have been killed and more than 125,000 people are in temporary shelters.

In July this year, Trump brokered a ceasefire between the two countries. Trump had intervened and reportedly threatened to halt trade negotiations with both countries unless they agreed to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. 

The diplomatic manoeuvre, facilitated by Malaysia and China, led to a truce, the implementation of which was suspended by Thailand in November this year after a soldier was injured by a landmine, which it claimed was laid freshly by Cambodia. 

Cambodia, on the other hand, denied the allegation, saying that they were likely old mines from previous conflicts. In December, Thailand launched airstrikes with F-16 jets on the Cambodian military positions in response to alleged drone and rocket attacks, to "cripple Cambodia's military capability". 

At present, the Thai Prime Minister has said that "there will be no talks" until Cambodia complies with its conditions, leading to a diplomatic stalemate. A senior US administration official has said that Trump  "expects the governments of Cambodia and Thailand to fully honor their commitments to end this conflict".