Morning Report: Diplomatic Pressure Follows High-Profile Signing
WASHINGTON D.C. / KUALA LUMPUR: On the morning of Tuesday, October 28, 2025, the Reuters news agency reported that a senior U.S. State Department official expressed a strong expectation that the Kingdom of Thailand would work with Cambodia to immediately initiate the procedure for releasing 18 detained Cambodian soldiers.
This appeal follows the signing of a historic Peace Agreement between the leaders of Cambodia and Thailand last Sunday (October 26) during the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which was presided over by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the senior U.S. official affirmed:
“Our expectation is that the procedures honoring the commitments from all parties will commence swiftly, consistent with their signing of the peace agreement.”
This statement underscores the importance of the accord, which is widely seen as a major step toward building confidence and ending long-standing tensions along the Cambodia-Thailand border. The release of detained soldiers is a crucial, agreed-upon point in the initial phase of the agreement.
Section 2: Related Key International Agendas
Beyond the ASEAN agenda, the same senior U.S. official took the opportunity to comment on other sensitive diplomatic issues concerning the Donald Trump administration in the Asia region.
APEC Summit and China-US Relations
This statement was made ahead of President Donald Trump’s scheduled summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping this Thursday, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea. In this context, the American official clearly outlined Washington’s unchanging positions:
- Policy toward Taiwan: The U.S. policy toward Taiwan remains unchanged in any way (adherence to the One China Policy).
- Policy toward North Korea: The primary U.S. policy continues to focus on the complete denuclearization of North Korea.
Conclusion
The release of the detained Cambodian soldiers will serve as a vital, early test of the implementation of the Cambodia-Thailand peace agreement, which was facilitated by the United States. Concurrently, Washington maintains its consistent stance on complex geopolitical issues in Asia, including Taiwan and North Korea, which are set to be central discussion points between Presidents Trump and Xi at the forthcoming APEC meeting.