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It was, as everyone knew it would be, all about US President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
He literally towered over everyone else at the ceremony in Kuala Lumpur where Cambodia and Thailand signed their agreement. He gave the longest speech – and made the biggest claims.<\/p>\n
It was all superlatives. <\/p>\n
“This is a momentous day for South East Asia,” Trump said. “A monumental step.” <\/p>\n
Describing the two slightly sheepish-looking prime ministers who were about to sign the deal as “historic figures”, Trump recalled at length how he got involved in the Thai-Cambodian border conflict while he was visiting his Turnberry golf course in Scotland in July.<\/p>\n
“And I said this is much more important than a round of golf… I could have had a lot of fun, but this is much more fun… saving people and saving countries.”<\/p>\n
Trump had asked for this special ceremony as a condition for coming to the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit – a gathering US presidents have attended at times in the past, but not always. And he used it to press his campaign to be recognised as a great peacemaker. <\/p>\n
“The eight wars that my administration has ended in eight months \u2013 there’s never been anything like that,” he said. “We’re averaging one a month… It’s like, I shouldn’t say it’s a hobby, because it’s so much more serious, but something I’m good at and something I love to do.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
But what does the “Kuala Lumpur Peace Accord”, as Trump has renamed it, actually amount to?<\/p>\n
Remember, both countries signed a ceasefire back in July. <\/p>\n
That, too, was helped – or at least accelerated – by pressure from Trump. <\/p>\n
Looking at the details of the latest deal, though, it isn’t much of leap forward.<\/p>\n
The two countries have agreed to withdraw their heavy weapons from the disputed border and to establish an interim observer team to monitor it. <\/p>\n
They have a new procedure for clearing landmines, and will set up what they call a joint taskforce to address the proliferation of scam centres. <\/p>\n
They will replace missing border markers with temporary ones.<\/p>\n
This is progress – and Thai diplomats have told me they do feel Trump’s involvement may help these agreements stick. <\/p>\n