Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Michael George DeSombre, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, held a working meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on January 10. During the meeting, DeSombre told Hun Manet that the US government, particularly President Donald Trump, continued to pay attention to the Cambodia–Thailand border situation and implementation of the spirit of the Kuala Lumpur Joint Declaration dated October 26, 2025. He also expressed happiness that 18 Cambodian soldiers had been released and reunited with their families.
DeSombre further stressed that the United States would continue to encourage maintenance of the ceasefire and wanted to see lasting peace between Cambodia and Thailand. He announced that the United States would provide US$15 million to support people displaced by fighting along the two countries’ border and US$10 million for clearing landmines and unexploded ordnance in Cambodia.
Hun Manet thanked President Donald Trump and the US government for facilitating the ceasefire and the Kuala Lumpur Joint Declaration dated October 26, 2025, and for continuing to pay attention to peacebuilding between Cambodia and Thailand, as well as announcing assistance to restore displaced people’s livelihoods and support humanitarian demining efforts. He stressed that Cambodia always valued peace and remained committed to resolving border issues peacefully in accordance with international law and the treaties, conventions and agreements between the two countries.
Hun Manet hoped that the United States would continue encouraging both sides to fully implement the Kuala Lumpur Joint Declaration dated October 26, 2025, and the Joint Statement of the Third Special Meeting of the General Border Committee (GBC), dated December 27, 2025. In particular, he highlighted allowing civilians to return home safely and without obstruction, and resuming the work of the Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary to survey and demarcate the land border between the two countries, as a foundation for lasting peace between Cambodia and Thailand.
Hun Manet and DeSombre also highly valued the significant progress in Cambodia–US relations and agreed to continue promoting concrete measures to further strengthen and expand cooperation in trade and investment, defence and security, people-to-people exchanges and law enforcement, including combating transnational crime and technology-enabled scams. DeSombre announced that the United States would provide US$10 million to build Cambodia’s capacity to combat technology-enabled scams.
By: Nget Pisant
