US President Donald Trump arrived in Japan on Monday, the second stop on his five-day tour of Asia – his longest trip abroad since taking office in January.
His first stop was the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he observed the signing of a peace agreement between Thailand and Cambodia.
Dubbed the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accord, it built on a ceasefire brokered by Trump in July following five days of deadly clashes in the decades-old Thailand-Cambodia border dispute.
After the border agreement was signed, Trump praised Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet for their courage, and said that the truth they told saved “millions of lives.”
“This is an important day for all of Southeast Asia as we sign a historic agreement to end the military conflict between Cambodia and Thailand,” Trump said.
The two countries reaffirmed “their unwavering commitment to peace and security”, agreeing to settle demining efforts on their border, withdrawing heavy weapons and allowing access to ASEAN-hosted ceasefire monitoring teams.
Thailand agreed to release 18 Cambodian soldiers held in captivity since July.
Trump also signed reciprocal trade agreements with Malaysia and Cambodia. Vietnam pledged to increase purchases of US products to reduce its trade surplus to $123 billion (€106 billion) in 2024.
The US President left for Japan from Malaysia on Monday. The country’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office just last week and is counting on building a friendly personal relationship with Trump to ease trade tensions.
Aboard Air Force One on Monday, Trump said he planned to talk about the “great friendship” between the United States and Japan in Tokyo.
Why is Trump getting all the attention?
Ever since Trump took the oath of office, his administration claims to have resolved eight wars in eight months.
“We’re averaging one a month. There’s only one left,” Trump said at the Kuala Lumpur summit.
Phil Robertson, director of Asia Human Rights and Labor Advocates, says Trump is out for himself.
“Presiding over the signing of Thailand and Cambodia’s agreements is about Trump continuing his egotistical quest for next year’s Nobel Peace Prize,” he told DW.
Cambodia nominated Trump for the prestigious peace prize in July after he intervened to stop five days of deadly clashes along disputed borders.
Trump had threatened to raise trade tariffs on US exports to both Thailand and Cambodia to 49% if the border issue was not resolved. An agreement was reached that both countries would pay only 19%.
Robertson said, “Both Thailand and Cambodia are highly dependent on the US market for their exports, so there was really no chance that they would have rejected Trump’s demands that they hurry up and make peace, and actually sign a deal with Trump.”
business pressures impact
Despite the United States being the world’s largest economy, Trump wants to reduce the US trade deficit with many of its trading partners. To this end, he has used executive orders to increase tariffs.
Singaporean political analyst Ian Chong told DW that this has put pressure on Southeast Asian economies.
“Tariffs, trade — including transshipment — are a big component of U.S. leverage. Southeast Asian economies are intermediaries in the global supply chain,” Chong said. He said many countries supply key minerals such as nickel to China “to manufacture products whose end market is in the United States.”
“Trade sanctions from the United States mean that Southeast Asian states have to find alternative end markets, which is not easy. This puts further pressure on their economies,” Chong said.
According to the Office of the US Trade Representative, trade between the US and ASEAN countries was projected to reach $475 billion in 2024. This is an important two-way screw for Southeast Asian economies.
Trump said that his administration has worked on how to prevent the Thai-Cambodian conflict from escalating, and he was surprised by the time frame for all this to happen.
“Everyone was surprised that we got it done so quickly,” Trump said.
Trump promotes regional loyalties
It was also a chance for Malaysian PM Anwar to meet Trump face-to-face, while a reciprocal trade agreement has already been announced between Washington and Kuala Lumpur.
Chong says the region’s leaders are eager to remain on Trump’s good side and maintain their trade ties with the US without having to accede to the demands of China, the world’s second-largest economy.
“Historically, the United States has helped maintain stability and easy access to sea and air, which are also important for trade,” Chong told DW.
“A less committed United States could create a destabilizing power vacuum or force Southeast Asian states to accept PRC terms,” Chong said, referring to China by abbreviating its official name, the People’s Republic of China.
“Southeast Asian leaders may believe that engaging directly with President Trump could help them make their case, or at least avoid being ostracized by the United States.”
But Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist and professor at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, says Trump is more interested in a quick win and a deal with China.
“The ASEAN meetings are an excuse for Trump,” Thittinen said.
“He wants quick wins, while Southeast Asia is looking for slow-win results. Trump has also turned the ASEAN-US summit into a working dinner, but Southeast Asian leaders have no choice but to go along,” he said.
“Japan and South Korea are bigger fish than Trump’s efforts to spur investment in the US. But the biggest agenda item will be his meeting with President Xi,” Thitinan said.
“Unlike Trump’s first term, China is ready to deal with the US measures. This is a geo-economic failure.”
Trump said he expected a deal when he met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, while also indicating he was willing to extend his trip to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
“I have a lot of respect for President Xi, and we … are going to make a deal,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Edited by: Keith Walker