Thailand & Cambodia at war again? Trump’s ‘peace deal’ collapses less than 50 days since signing
Published on Dec 08, 2025 11:54 PM IST
U.S. president Trump says he “delivers peace”, but what happens when his fastest peace deal collapses in less than five months? Thailand and Cambodia are firing artillery across a border that hasn’t been truly quiet for a century. The same border Trump claimed he “solved” in Kuala Lumpur with a handshake, a tariff threat, and a headline. But what was actually signed? What did Bangkok and Phnom Penh agree to? And why did the real dispute, the fault line around ancient temples, old maps, and national pride remain untouched? In this story, Ananya Dutta breaks down the border blow-up that exposes the fragility of that deal. Why did Thailand accept a peace it didn’t believe in? Why did Cambodia sign something it couldn’t sell at home? And why did Trump push a quick agreement without addressing the roots of the conflict? Most importantly, what really triggered the collapse of “Trump’s fastest peace deal ever,” and what does this say about his foreign-policy strategy across Asia?