What’s in the Thai-Cambodia peace agreement and can it hold?

United States President Donald Trump has kicked off his weeklong, high-stakes diplomatic tour of Asia in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, by presiding over the signing of a peace declaration between Thailand and Cambodia.

Trump had flown to Malaysia to attend the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), where he also signed separate trade deals on Sunday with Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia as well as agreements on critical minerals with Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.

The highlight of his appearance was a peace declaration between Cambodia and Thailand that expanded on a ceasefire agreement reached in July, which brought deadly border clashes to a halt.

The agreement was signed by the prime ministers of the ASEAN neighbours, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, and was overseen by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia, which currently chairs ASEAN.

While the regional leaders hailed the ceasefire as “historic”, the differences between them run deep with decades-long disputes over their border and temples claimed by both sides.

So what’s in the deal and can the ceasefire really hold?

What do we know about the peace agreement?

Under the joint declaration by the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia signed on Sunday, the neighbours pledged “unwavering commitment to peace and security” and committed to an immediate halt to hostilities, reaffirming their earlier July pledge to avoid the use of force and respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Kuala Lumpur Peace Accord, as Trump named it, marks the most detailed attempt yet to end fighting between Thailand and Cambodia along their disputed border.

At the core of the deal is a plan for military de-escalation under ASEAN members’ supervision. Both sides agreed to remove heavy weapons from border areas and return them to regular bases with verification by a new ASEAN Observer Team (AOT).

Beyond military measures, the agreement also addressed an “information war” that has emerged in recent months and fuelled tensions in both countries. Bangkok and Phnom Penh pledged to refrain from spreading false or inflammatory claims through official or unofficial channels.

Both governments have committed to resume normal diplomatic engagement and coordinate local-level talks through established mechanisms like the General Border Committee and the Joint Boundary Commission.

The two countries also pledged to coordinate and implement humanitarian de-mining in the border areas, one of the key triggers behind the recent round of fighting.

Upon fulfilment, Thailand has undertaken to release 18 Cambodian soldiers captured during this year’s fighting.

How has each side reacted?

Anutin said Bangkok stands for peace and “this declaration, if fully implemented, will create the building blocks for a lasting peace.”

Hun Manet called the signing of the joint declaration a “historic day”.

“It will begin the process of mending our ties,” Anutin said, adding that “innocent civilians have suffered immense losses.”

Anwar said the agreement “reminds us that reconciliation is not concession but an act of courage”.

Trump spoke the longest of all.

Sitting at the table with the regional leaders in front of a backdrop covered with the words “Delivering Peace”, Trump said: “Everybody was sort of amazed that we got [the ceasefire] done so quickly.”

“My administration immediately began working to prevent the conflict from escalating,” he added, recalling how he had learned of the fighting while visiting his Turnberry golf course in Scotland in July.

“I said this is much more important than a round of golf,” Trump said, adding, “I could have had a lot of fun, but this is much more fun, … saving people and saving countries.”

“The eight wars that my administration has ended in eight months – there’s never been anything like that,” Trump boasted. “It’s like, I shouldn’t say it’s a hobby, because it’s so much more serious, but something I’m good at and something I love to do.”

What was the fighting about?

Relations between Thailand and Cambodia have been at their worst in decades.

The 800km-long (nearly 500-mile-long) border between the Southeast Asian neighbours has long been a source of conflict. Both sides dispute demarcations drawn in 1907 during French colonial rule in Cambodia.

The border areas are replete with centuries-old temples, some of which are claimed by both sides. The disputed regions are also home to communities on both sides of the border who share ancestry and heritage.

In February, a dispute over Prasat Ta Moan Thon, a Khmer temple, flared up after Thai police reportedly stopped Cambodian tourists from singing their national anthem at the contested site.

Tensions mounted after the killing of a Cambodian soldier in a border confrontation in May, which led to a troop build-up on both sides and a full-blown diplomatic crisis.

Then the fighting intensified in late July, and dozens of people were killed on both sides over five days before a ceasefire was reached. At least 300,000 people were displaced on both sides.

Trump had phoned both leaders, arguing he would not conclude trade deals with them if the fighting continued. The US is the biggest export market for both countries.

However, tensions came to the fore again in August when Thai soldiers were injured by landmines while patrolling a buffer zone between the countries. Thailand accused Cambodia of laying new mines in violation of the ceasefire, something Phnom Penh strongly denied.

The expanded peace deal now includes de-mining along the border and the withdrawal of heavy weaponry.

What is the current situation on the ground?

The truce is holding for now; however, it remains fragile as a result of local disputes and fractious political stances in both countries.

At the ceremony on Sunday, both their prime ministers thanked Trump for his efforts. Hun Manet also reminded Trump that his government had nominated the US president for the Nobel Peace Prize, an international recognition that Trump campaigned for but did not get when this year’s prizes were handed out this month.

Amid the tensions, the countries closed their land border crossings, and this continues to disrupt bilateral trade, which totalled up to $10.45bn last year.

Earlier this month, Cambodia’s former longtime leader and Hun Manet’s father, Hun Sen, raised a complaint with the United Nations about “intense, high-pitched noises” being broadcast across the border.

The still powerful Hun Sen said Thailand was broadcasting ghost-like sounds from its Sisaket province, and the Cambodian Human Rights Committee accused Thailand of “engaging in psychological warfare”.

The committee noted that high-decibel sounds of “ghosts”, wailing children, howling dogs and roaring helicopters have been blasted through loudspeakers at night since October 10.

Thai social media crusader Kannawat Pongpaibulwech, also known as Kan Chompalang, was revealed to be behind the nightly sound blasts at Ban Nong Chan and Ban Nong Ya Kaew in Sisaket province, The Nation newspaper reported.

Kannawat, who had received permission from the Thai army regiment overseeing security in the border province to carry out the campaign, said he aimed to drive out Cambodian settlers encroaching on Thai territory.

Anutin told The Nation that he did not believe the tactic violated any human rights principles. “We just did it to protect our sovereignty,” he said.

Will the ceasefire hold?

Chheang Vannarith, a political analyst and chairman of Cambodia’s National Assembly Advisory Council, told Al Jazeera that the joint declaration was “a positive, important step towards the restoration of peace and normalcy” in the region.

“The ceasefire will hold, but the international community must keep closely monitoring the implementation,” Vannarith said, adding that Trump’s role has been “decisive” in brokering the deal. “He has heavy weight on this,” he added.

However, he said domestic political leveraging of the tensions in Bangkok “might change the dynamics”.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor and senior fellow at the Institute of Security and International Studies at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University, said that post-summit, the ASEAN bloc would have to contend with the lasting effects of the Thai-Cambodian conflict over the coming years, “spilling into the Philippines’s turn to chair next year and possibly Singapore’s in 2027 when ASEAN turns 60”.

Even though there has been progress on negotiations to de-escalate the tensions and reset border talks, the respective governments of Thailand and Cambodia “appear intent and incentivised to stoke the flames of nationalism for domestic political gains”, he said.

On the Thai side, Thitinan said Anutin “will likely try to exploit anti-Cambodian feelings and reactions at home for leverage and electoral advantage ahead of a fresh poll by the second quarter next year.”

In Cambodia, Hun Manet could rally anti-Thai grievances and resentments to maintain political control and divert attention from allegations involving scam centres and transnational crime based in Cambodia, Thitinan said.

“The Thai-Cambodian conflict has become ASEAN’s albatross in dire need of focused mitigation and resolution within bilateral, ASEAN mechanisms,” Thitinan said.

He added that those actions must go beyond the agendas of Washington or Beijing.