The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia yesterday signed an expanded ceasefire deal watched over by US President Donald Trump, who landed in Malaysia for the ASEAN Summit and to oversee a series of pivotal trade talks.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and his Cambodian counterpart Hun Manet signed the agreement at a ceasefire ceremony in front of a backdrop covered in US insignia and the words “delivering peace,” building on a truce signed three months ago.
“This declaration, if fully implemented, will provide the building blocks for a lasting peace, but more importantly, it will begin the process of mending our ties,” Hun Manet said. “Our border communities have been divided by conflict, and innocent civilians have suffered immense losses.”
Photo: AFP
Trump helped broker an end to the five-day conflict in July by calling the then-leaders of the two countries and urging them to end hostilities — their worst fighting in recent history — or risk their respective trade talks with Washington being put on hold.
“The United States will have a robust commerce and cooperation, transactions, lots of them, with both nations, as long as they live in peace,” Trump said.
On arriving in Malaysia, Trump was greeted by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and a troupe of ceremonial dancers at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. He stopped on the red carpet to dance with the performers before taking a US flag in one hand and a Malaysian flag in the other before getting into his limousine to travel to the city with Anwar.
Photo: AFP
Malaysia yesterday agreed to refrain from banning or imposing quotas on exports to the US of critical minerals or rare earth elements, the two countries said in a statement.
They did not specify whether Malaysia’s pledge applied to raw or processed rare earths.
Trump also announced a wider trade deal with Cambodia while the White House said an agreement had also been reached with Vietnam to allow “both countries’ exporters unprecedented access to each other’s markets.”
The US would maintain a tariff rate of 19 percent on most exports from Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia, while a 20 percent rate on Vietnam would also be retained, the White House said.
Meanwhile, East Timor yesterday became the 11th member of the ASEAN bloc, fulfilling a vision set out by its president about a half-century ago while the country was a Portuguese colony.
The combined effect of the monsoon, the outer rim of Typhoon Fengshen and a low-pressure system is expected to bring significant rainfall this week to various parts of the nation, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The heaviest rain is expected to occur today and tomorrow, with torrential rain expected in Keelung’s north coast, Yilan and the mountainous regions of Taipei and New Taipei City, the CWA said. Rivers could rise rapidly, and residents should stay away from riverbanks and avoid going to the mountains or engaging in water activities, it said. Scattered showers are expected today in central and
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