Thai PM to Sign Cambodia Ceasefire Deal; Skips Summits Following Royal Death

Thailand’s Prime Minister will travel to Malaysia to sign a ceasefire agreement with Cambodia, an event expected to be witnessed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump had earlier withdrawn from the ASEAN Summit following the death of Thailand’s Queen Mother Sirikit.

Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) convened in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, kicking off a weekend of global diplomacy that also includes trade discussions between U.S. and Chinese delegations alongside the summit.

Trump is scheduled to arrive in Asia on Sunday morning for the first leg of his regional tour. He was expected to attend the signing of a major ceasefire agreement between Cambodia and Thailand, which helped end a deadly border conflict that raged for five days in July.

The recent clashes, among the most intense between the Southeast Asian neighbors in decades, left dozens dead and temporarily displaced nearly 300,000 people.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the ceasefire ceremony would take place on Sunday morning, after which he would immediately return to Thailand.

He confirmed that he would also skip next week’s APEC Summit in South Korea.

Thailand’s Cabinet is scheduled to meet Saturday morning to discuss funeral arrangements for the late Queen Mother.

ASEAN’s Agenda: Trade, Partnerships, and Tariffs

At its annual meeting, ASEAN plans to emphasize trade multilateralism and deeper engagement with new partners while managing the fallout from Trump’s global tariff policies.

The summit will also mark the formal entry of East Timor as ASEAN’s 11th member.

Alongside the regional talks, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Basent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will hold a new round of trade negotiations with a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier He Lifeng.

The world’s two largest economies are struggling to find common ground after Trump threatened to impose new 100% tariffs and other trade restrictions on Chinese goods starting November 1. The move was in response to Beijing’s tightening export controls on rare earth magnets and minerals.

World Leaders Gather in Kuala Lumpur

Among the global leaders expected to attend Sunday’s summit with Trump are Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and Japan’s newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Trump is anticipated to hold a much-awaited meeting with President Lula during the summit, though the discussion has not yet been confirmed. Lula has said he plans to argue that Washington’s 50% tariff on Brazilian goods was a “mistake,” citing the U.S.’s $410 billion trade surplus with Brazil over the past 15 years.

Speaking aboard Air Force One en route to Asia, Trump told reporters he would consider reducing tariffs on Brazil “under the right circumstances.”

He added that he has no plans to meet with Prime Minister Carney, saying he is “happy with our deal with Canada.”

Trade discussions between Washington and Ottawa recently stalled after a provincial government in Ontario released an advertisement featuring former U.S. President Ronald Reagan warning that tariffs lead to trade wars and economic disaster. Trump dismissed the video as “fraudulent.”