Asean leaders hope Trump’s presence will bring stabilitypublished at 01:37 GMT
Jonathan Head
South East Asia Correspondent
President Trump has made it clear he is interested in one thing at the summit meeting of South East Asian countries – a ceremony, which he requested, where the prime ministers of Thailand and Cambodia will sign an agreement to help mend their relations after their short border war earlier this year.
Trump has described it as a “great peace deal which I proudly brokered”.
However the two countries remain deadlocked over where their shared border lies, and they have agreed only to start steps to demilitarise it, in rushed talks over the past week to produce something to put in this deal.
But the US president’s presence at this summit was important for the 11 member states of Asean.
They include some of the most export-dependent economies in the world, which were badly shaken by Trump’s tariff war – just having him here, albeit for only 24 hours, will, they hope, bring some stability to their relationship with the US.
