Cambodia Jan 09 : The United States has announced a $45 million aid package for Thailand and Cambodia to reinforce a fragile ceasefire and promote stability along their disputed border. The announcement was made on Friday by Michael DeSombre, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, during an online media briefing from Bangkok, where he is meeting with senior officials from both nations to discuss implementation of the peace accords.
The assistance package includes $15 million for border stabilization to help communities recover and support people displaced by the fighting, $10 million for demining and clearance of unexploded ordnance, and $20 million for programs aimed at tackling drug trafficking and online scam operations. “The restoration of peace at the Thai-Cambodian border opens new opportunities for the United States to deepen our work with both countries to promote regional stability and advance our interests in a safer, stronger and more prosperous Indo-Pacific,” DeSombre stated.
The fighting between Thailand and Cambodia, which flared up in July and again in December, displaced hundreds of thousands of people and killed around 100 soldiers and civilians. Both countries accuse each other of responsibility for the violence, which stems from competing claims over sections of their shared 800-kilometer border, originally drawn during the colonial era and involving disputed areas that include ancient temple ruins claimed by both sides.
The ceasefire, formally known as the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords, was signed in October 2025 at a regional meeting in Malaysia attended by President Donald Trump, who warned both nations that Washington would not proceed with trade agreements if hostilities continued. Despite the agreement, clashes erupted again early last month before defense ministers from both countries signed a renewed pact on December 27 committing to implement the October deal. Thailand later accused Cambodia of violating the truce, though Phnom Penh claimed it was accidental. The aid package signals renewed US engagement in Southeast Asia after the Trump administration had sharply reduced assistance following the shutdown of USAID last year.
