The United States has announced a $45 million assistance package for Thailand and Cambodia, aimed at reinforcing President Donald Trump’s peace-building agenda between the two Southeast Asian countries.
This pledge was made public on Friday by Michael DeSombre, U.S. Assistant Secretary for East Asia, as he traveled through the region to affirm Washington’s continued engagement in efforts under the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords.
In his statement, DeSombre underlined the U.S. commitment to supporting the governments of Cambodia and Thailand as they pursue the peace accords and work toward lasting stability and prosperity for their citizens and the broader region.
According to a senior official from the State Department, DeSombre is scheduled to hold discussions with top leaders in both Bangkok and Phnom Penh on Friday and Saturday.
The targeted funding allocation includes $15 million earmarked for border stabilization efforts, which will help local communities recover and provide assistance to those uprooted by recent hostilities. An additional $10 million will go toward clearing landmines and unexploded ordnance left behind in border areas, DeSombre detailed.
He added that another $20 million is intended for joint measures to crack down on scam operations and narcotics trafficking—issues that have been prioritized by the Trump administration, given the impact of financial fraud schemes originating from Southeast Asia and targeting American citizens.
Renewed violence erupted along the Cambodian-Thai border last month following the breakdown of a ceasefire agreement that President Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim brokered in July.
The two nations reached a fresh truce at the end of last year, ending 20 days of hostilities that claimed at least 101 lives and forced more than 500,000 people from their homes.
