Digesting Trump’s trip through Asia

CAMBODIA-THAILAND PEACE DEAL * MALAYSIA 2025 -

- Thitinan Pongsudhirak

This Oct 26 photo shows US President Donald Trump holding a signed document with Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul during the ceremonial signing of a ceasefire agreement between Cambodia and Thailand on the sidelines of the 47th Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur.AFP

(AFP)

Storming through Asia last week, US President Donald Trump's first stop in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 26, before moving on to Japan and South Korea over the next four days, capped by his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping before returning to Washington, was the most consequential for Southeast Asian economies.

Brandishing unilateral tariffs set in April as leverage in his weaponisation of the US as the world’s largest export market, Mr Trump succeeded in twisting arms to follow through with his “Make America Great Again” pledge, finalising trade concessions and inducing inbound investments. For Thailand, Mr Trump left behind a “Framework Agreement on Reciprocal Trade” and a “Memorandum of Understanding to Diversify Global Critical Minerals Supply Chains and Promote Investments.”

Mr Trump evidently learned from his last foray in Asia in 2017 — during his first term — when he visited Vietnam and the Philippines. His deliverables back then were limited and less concrete and ended up as a broad geostrategic posture known as the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific,’ which was codified in the National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy by early 2018.

After that, he did not visit Southeast Asia again for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit meetings. This time, he moved and shook up Asean by presiding over the signing of a peace accord between Cambodia and Thailand, whose militaries clashed, starting in July, over a border dispute.