KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 8): US President Donald Trump will only attend the Asean summit in Malaysia later this month if he is allowed to preside over a ceremonial signing of a peace deal between Cambodia and Thailand, according to two news reports.
The Malaysian government has been told of the conditions from the White House, Politico reported, based on three unidentified people familiar with the plan. The Trump administration has also specifically requested that summit organisers exclude Chinese officials from the ceremonial event, the American political news company said.
“Talks are ongoing, but the Malaysian government is in a difficult position,” one of the people familiar with summit plans was quoted as saying by Politico.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has already confirmed Trump’s participation at the summit in July.
While Trump is highly unpopular in Malaysia for supporting Israel, his presence at the signing ceremony at the sidelines of the Asean summit would allow him to claim credit for the ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia.
Trump said last month that it will be a “big insult” if he doesn’t win the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.
A separate report by the South China Morning Post also said Trump wants a special ceremony on the sidelines of the Asean Summit to stake his claim on initiating the peace process.
“Yes. That is one of his reasons [for] coming to Kuala Lumpur,” one of the four diplomatic and Malaysian government sources was quoted as saying by the Hong Kong-based English news.
Anwar’s office and Malaysia’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Anwar will have to juggle between meeting the demands of the US that could threaten more tariffs on Malaysian goods and preserving ties with China, its biggest trading partner. The Chinese embassy also didn’t respond to a request for comment from Politico.
“The Malaysians seem to think Trump will still show up if they can finalise the US-Malaysia trade deal, even without the Cambodia–Thailand piece,” Politico reported one of the three persons as saying. “Though White House folks are still saying Malaysia is ‘up in the air’, both on account of the trade deal and the peace deal being soft.”