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Washington has exerted influence on Thailand to recommit to a ceasefire agreement with the Cambodian side, stating that trade negotiations could be halted as efforts are made to stop a Donald Trump-brokered peace agreement from falling apart.

Rising Border Hostilities

In recent days, Thailand announced it was putting on hold the truce agreement, accusing Cambodian forces of planting new explosives along the shared border, among them an incident that reportedly wounded a Thai soldier on duty, who suffered a foot amputation in the blast.

Following this, a fatality occurred and several others wounded by gunfire along the border between the two nations, raising concerns of a fresh wave of tit-for-tat fighting.

US Trade Pressure

Over the weekend, a representative from Thailand's foreign office told journalists that a letter from the U.S. trade office announcing the suspension of trade deal talks was obtained on Friday night.

He quoted the letter as saying that trade negotiations – which are addressing a US tariff of 19% – could resume once the Thai government reaffirmed its commitment to carrying out the mutual truce agreement.

“Tariff negotiations will continue and remain separate from border issues,” stated a different official representative.

Trump’s Tariff Threat

Addressing reporters aboard the presidential plane as he traveled to the Sunshine State on the end of the week, the US leader implied that he had employed tariff warnings in calls with the ASEAN nation heads.

The US president said, “I stopped a war just today through the use of tariffs, the threat of tariffs,” adding, “they’re doing great. I think they’re gonna be fine.”

Ceasefire Agreement Background

The President witnessed the finalization of a ceasefire agreement, held in Malaysia this October, and has promoted it as one of multiple agreements around the world he says should win him the Nobel Peace prize.

The most severe clashes in a decade between Thai and Cambodian troops broke out in mid-summer, with exchanges of fire, shelling and aerial attacks causing numerous fatalities and 300,000 displaced.

Longstanding Border Dispute

Thailand and Cambodia have a historic territorial disagreement that dates back to disagreements over maps from the colonial period created by French cartographers. Ancient temples along the border are claimed by both sides.

Reuters contributed to this report.