PETALING JAYA: The United States will provide US$45mil in assistance to Cambodia and Thailand to support peace efforts between both countries, says Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Michael G. DeSombre.
DeSombre said the US$15mil will be provided for border stabilisation to help communities recover and to support displaced persons.
US$10mil will be provided for demining and unexploded ordnance clearing operations, and US$20mil for initiatives that will help both countries combat scam operations and drug trafficking, among many other programmes.
“The restoration of peace at the Thai-Cambodia border also opens new opportunities for the United States to deepen our work with both countries to promote regional stability and advance our interests in a safer, stronger, and more prosperous Indo-Pacific,” he said during a digital press briefing that discussed the ceasefire between Cambodia and Thailand and the implementation of the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords on Friday (Jan 9).
On the disbursement of funds, he said the information will be relayed to Thailand and Cambodia soon.
“We are very committed to ensuring that these amounts are used to take care of displaced persons at the border and otherwise focus on demining and really also focus on the scam centres that have been the cause of lots of disruption in the region and in the United States,” he said.
DeSombre added that the United States will continue supporting the Cambodian and Thai governments for the implementation of the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accord and pave the way for a return to peace, prosperity, and stability for their people and the region.
On Oct 26 last year, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet signed a peace deal known as the KL Peace Accord on the sidelines of the 47th Asean Summit, with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and US President Trump as witnesses.
This came after long-running tensions over a disputed border between the two South-East Asian nations erupted into five days of fighting in July last year.
This saw at least 48 people killed and an estimated 300,000 temporarily displaced.
In December, another episode saw dozens killed and about a million displaced from both countries.
Both countries then agreed a second ceasefire at the end of December, ending weeks of border clashes that amounted to the worst fighting in years between the South-East Asian neighbours.
