US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Michael DeSombre announced this aid in an online press conference in Bangkok, Thailand on January 9.
He is meeting with senior Thai officials to discuss the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in October 2025, also known as the Kuala Lumpur Peace Agreement.
Re-establishing peace on the Thai-Cambodian border opens up new opportunities for the US to strengthen cooperation with both countries to promote regional stability and consolidate our interests in a safer, stronger and more prosperous Indo-Pacific region" - Mr. DeSombre said.
Mr. DeSombre said: "The US will provide 15 million USD to stabilize borders, help communities recover and support evacuators; 10 million USD for mine clearance and unexploded ordnance; and 20 million USD for initiatives to help both countries fight against fraud and drug trafficking, along with many other programs." Details of aid packages are still being discussed by the parties.
On January 10, this US official is scheduled to have discussions with senior Cambodian officials in Phnom Penh.
Previously, on January 8, Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn said that a high-level delegation from the US State Department would visit Cambodia in the coming days to strengthen the ceasefire agreement between Cambodia and Thailand.
Prolonged territorial disputes along the Thai-Cambodian border are the root cause of the conflicts.
Fighting in July and December caused hundreds of thousands of people in Thailand and Cambodia to evacuate and about 100 soldiers and civilians were killed. Bombs and mines left over from decades of civil war in Cambodia are an issue that this country has to respond to, while Thailand accuses newly planted bombs and mines in border areas of being the cause of Thai patrol soldiers being injured in dozens of cases last year.
Along with that, online scams originating from Southeast Asia, especially from Cambodia and Myanmar, are serious transnational crime issues, which have defrauded billions of USD from victims around the world.
US aid to Southeast Asian countries and other regions around the world for humanitarian and development programs was severely cut last year when the administration of President Donald Trump shut down the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
