Stephen Bryen
Cambodia and Thailand on Sunday agreed to move toward resolving longstanding hostilities over their shared border, as President Trump took credit for mediating the decades-old dispute and sought once again to burnish his peacemaking credentials.
Mr. Trump and the prime minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, helped broker a cease-fire between Cambodia and Thailand in July, ending a deadly five-day conflict. On Sunday they witnessed Prime Minister Hun Manet of Cambodia and his Thai counterpart, Anutin Charnvirakul, sign an agreement in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital.
It was the one of the most high-profile commitments toward peace between the two sides. Mr. Trump termed the deal “the Kuala Lumpur peace accords” and called it “historic.”
But there are significant obstacles for lasting peace: the neighbors have not agreed how to define the border and have to manage nationalistic emotions over the issue. The official text of the agreement described it not as a peace deal but a joint declaration by the prime ministers of both Cambodia and Thailand “on the outcomes of their meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.”
Still, a key part of the deal was a commitment by the two sides to withdraw heavy weapons from the border, moves that will be monitored by observers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Another breakthrough was the announcement that Thailand would repatriate 18 prisoners of war to Cambodia.
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The agreement on Sunday, signed during an ASEAN summit, was also remarkable because Thailand has consistently said it rejects third-party mediation in the dispute. Thailand’s foreign minister, Sihasak Phuangketkeow, told reporters that the United States helped in facilitating the talks but that the negotiations were bilateral.
At least 40 people were killed after the latest iteration of the border dispute erupted into war on July 24. Hundreds of thousands were displaced. Mr. Trump intervened on the third day of fighting, calling the leaders of both Thailand and Cambodia to say he was not going to continue tariff negotiations if they did not end the conflict.
Putin and Gerasimov Clash Over Air Defenses and Drones
A video released on October 25 reveals a remarkable and harsh meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of Russia’s armed forces. Putin demanded to know why Russia’s air defenses have failed to stop Ukraine’s use of cheap commercial drones playing havoc with Russia’s critical infrastructure and military installations. Putin made clear that this failure was costly to Russia, lowered its prestige, and indicated inexplicable failures that must be fixed.
Putin rejected virtually all of Gerasimov’s arguments defending Russia’s air defenses.
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Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, left, looks on as Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov [File: Alexei Nikolsky/Sputnik via EPA-EFE]
Gerasimov asked for three months to fix the various issues impacting air defenses. Putin demanded a solution in one month.
I believe the leaked account is accurate and not Ukrainian, US or NATO propaganda, although that cannot be ruled out.
Putin asked how it was that despite the billions of rubles invested, the system could not detect cheap drones and destroy them. He pointed to big systems such as the S-300 and S-400, and mobile systems such as the Pantsir.
Below is the You tube video, in Russian. Viewers can select subtitles in various languages by going to the system settings.
I have sensed for some time growing frustration in Russia’s civilian leadership with the overall performance of the Russian armed forces. This reported explosion by Putin exposes only one of the many problems, but this one is of the greatest immediate political importance. Russia’s entire defense capability rests on its air defense system.
Russian air defenses were not designed to go after hard to track small drones. Instead it was designed to counter western aircraft, especially bombers, and to deal with threats from standoff missiles, particularly Tomahawks.
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