Khoo Ying Hooi
Malaysia’s Prime Minister and current ASEAN Chair Anwar Ibrahim (center), flanked by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thai Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai announces a Cambodia-Thailand ceasefire, Putrajaya, Malaysia, July 28, 2025.Credit: Facebook/ Anwar IbrahimThe brief but deadly eruption of violence between Thailand and Cambodia last week jolted Southeast Asia. During the fighting, over 250,000 people were displaced, at least 35 people were killed, and cultural heritage sites once again became collateral in a nationalistic tug-of-war.
But beyond the bullets and borderlines lies a deeper story: one of geopolitical performance, transactional diplomacy, and the lingering question of who truly gets to shape peace in Southeast Asia.The rapid announcement of a ceasefire today, brokered in Putrajaya with Malaysia as mediator, offered a welcome pause. Yet the dust had barely settled before the shadow of great power rivalry reemerged. Both the United States and China issued statements during the crisis.
U.S. President Donald Trump, ever theatrical, claimed credit for pushing leaders toward dialogue, declaring himself the “the President of PEACE” and claiming to have “saved thousands of lives.” China, predictably circumspect, spoke in favor of restraint and regional process. But it was Malaysia that stepped up as a peacemaker.Fighting erupted on July 24 along the Cambodia-Thailand border, marking the most serious escalation between the two countries in over a decade. Rooted in longstanding territorial disputes and political tension, the clashes quickly intensified into a broader military confrontation involving airstrikes, artillery, and retaliatory fire. Both sides accused each other of targeting civilians, while tens of thousands of residents were displaced amid growing regional concern.
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