Rebecca Tan

President Donald Trump kicked off his Asia trip in Malaysia by dancing on the tarmac before signing an agreement that formalizes a Thailand-Cambodia ceasefire.

Trump, who wants a Nobel Peace Prize, has claimed credit for the ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia. He will oversee the signing of the “Kuala Lumpur Accord.”

President Prabowo Subianto wants to assert Indonesia’s influence on the global stage — and foster closer ties to President Donald Trump.

Cambodia’s elite is taken with Trump, partly thanks to his disregard for democratic processes, but also due to his efforts to secure ceasefire in a border conflict with Thailand.

To reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar and build its own capacity to influence the international monetary system, China is procuring gold at a voracious pace.

Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to “an immediate and unconditional ceasefire” starting at midnight, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said.

The Southeast Asian neighbors, which share a disputed 500-mile frontier, have long fought over the sovereignty of a 1,000-year-old temple.

Tensions between the neighbors have escalated after a Cambodian soldier was killed in a skirmish earlier this year. 

Manila’s significant shift could pave the way for the Philippines, an American treaty ally, to play a bigger role in regional defense if China invades Taiwan.

Vietnam finds itself caught between its two biggest trading partners as the Trump administration tries to stop Chinese exporters using Vietnam as a way station.