During a speech on Sunday, US President Donald Trump said he used trade as a tool to pressure Southeast Asian leaders to calm rising tensions between Thailand and Cambodia. Trump explained that the US maintains strong economic relationships with both countries and claimed he made personal calls to their prime ministers.
“We do a lot of trade with Thailand and Cambodia. Yet I’m reading that they’re killing each other,” Trump said. He added, “I say this should be an easy one for me because I settled India and Pakistan. I called the Prime Ministers of each (Thailand and Cambodia) and I said, ‘We’re not going to make a trade deal unless you settle the war.’ By the time I got off the phone, I think they want to settle now.”
While speaking about the situation in Southeast Asia, Trump brought up the India-Pakistan conflict, suggesting he used the same strategy in that case too. Referring to rising hostilities between the two South Asian neighbors, Trump said, “India and Pakistan were really getting ready to go at it. So getting those things settled and if I can use trade to do that then it’s my honour.”
This is not the first time Trump has claimed responsibility for reducing tensions between India and Pakistan. In earlier comments at the White House, he said his administration canceled trade deals with both nations to push them toward de-escalation.
“We did some great work India and Pakistan. That was close to being nuclear. We handled it. We did a lot,” he told reporters. Trump also stated, “I don’t know if any president has done more.”
He mentioned taking similar actions in other global conflict zones. “Serbia and Kosovo were going to go at it. I said, ‘You go at it, there’s no trade with the United States,’” he noted, claiming this tactic also worked with India and Pakistan. According to Trump, he instructed his officials, “Cancel all deals with India and Pakistan. They’re not trading with us while they’re at war.”
Despite Trump’s repeated claims, India has consistently denied that he played any role in the 2021 ceasefire with Pakistan. Indian officials said the agreement reached on May 10—after four days of drone and missile attacks across the border—was the result of direct communication between military leaders from both sides.
They said that the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) from India and Pakistan negotiated the truce, and that Pakistan initiated the talks.
In a phone call with Trump, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also reaffirmed India’s official policy on the matter. He told Trump that issues with Pakistan are strictly bilateral and that “India does not and will never accept third-party mediation.”
