Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at renewed fighting between Thailand and Cambodia, minimal progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks, and China’s record-breaking trade surplus.
Breakdown in Peace
Thailand launched deadly airstrikes on Cambodia on Monday, upending a tenuous U.S.-brokered cease-fire deal signed less than two months ago. With both countries accusing each other of instigating the latest round of fighting, regional leaders warn that the decades-long border dispute between the two countries could trigger widespread instability, particularly as fighting displaces tens of thousands of civilians on both sides.
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at renewed fighting between Thailand and Cambodia, minimal progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks, and China’s record-breaking trade surplus.
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Breakdown in Peace
Thailand launched deadly airstrikes on Cambodia on Monday, upending a tenuous U.S.-brokered cease-fire deal signed less than two months ago. With both countries accusing each other of instigating the latest round of fighting, regional leaders warn that the decades-long border dispute between the two countries could trigger widespread instability, particularly as fighting displaces tens of thousands of civilians on both sides.
The Thai-Cambodia conflict dates back to a 1907 map drawn up when Cambodia was under French colonial rule. According to the map (and a 1962 International Court of Justice ruling), Cambodia has sovereignty over an area of land along the two countries’ border that includes the 1,000-year-old Preah Vihear temple. Thailand, however, disputes this claim, arguing that the map is inaccurate.
In recent years, the two nations’ animosity has manifested in few direct altercations, with 2011 being the last time that a major incident turned deadly. But that changed in July, when fighting erupted across Thailand and Cambodia’s shared 500-mile land border, killing dozens of soldiers and civilians over the course of five days.
U.S. President Donald Trump flexed his self-proclaimed peacemaker-in-chief credentials to negotiate a cease-fire deal throughout the summer and fall. But within weeks of signing a comprehensive agreement in late October, Thailand announced that it would be indefinitely suspending the agreement, citing injuries to Thai troops from nearby land mines; under the truce deal, Thailand and Cambodia are required to work together to remove land mines from the area.
On Sunday, the cease-fire was further strained when the Thai army accused Cambodia of killing at least one of its soldiers in cross-border fire, prompting retaliatory attacks. Since then, four Cambodian civilians have been killed and nine others injured. “If you want the fight to stop, go tell the aggressor,” Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Monday, adding that “Thailand has never initiated a fight or an invasion, but will never tolerate a violation of its sovereignty.”
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet denied breaking the truce, saying that the Thai side fired first and that Cambodian troops did not retaliate. “Cambodia remains strictly committed to respecting and implementing the ceasefire agreement,” the Cambodian Defense Ministry added on X on Monday.
The fighting has renewed concerns of spillover instability in Southeast Asia. “Our region cannot afford to see long-standing disputes slip into cycles of confrontation,” Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim wrote on X. Already, the U.S. embassies in Thailand and Cambodia have urged Americans to avoid traveling within roughly 30 miles of the Thai-Cambodia border.
But whereas Cambodia says that it remains committed to the U.S.-negotiated deal, Thailand appears less optimistic that the agreement can address current concerns. Military action will continue “until we feel that sovereignty and territorial integrity are not challenged,” Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow told CNN on Monday, adding that “we’re not really convinced that the joint declaration is working according to its intention.”
Today’s Most Read
The World This Week
Tuesday, Dec. 9: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hosts Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
French President Emmanuel Macron hosts Romanian President Nicusor Dan.
Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin hosts European Council President António Costa.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hosts Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
Wednesday, Dec. 10: Merz hosts Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic.
Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen host Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
Thursday, Dec. 11: Merz hosts NATO chief Mark Rutte.
Friday, Dec. 12: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosts Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever.
Meloni hosts Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Sunday, Dec. 14: Chile holds a presidential election runoff.
What We’re Following
Lack of progress. Zelensky met with European leaders in London on Monday to discuss “sensitive issues” concerning ongoing Russia-Ukraine peace talks. Alongside Starmer, Macron, and Merz, Zelensky highlighted the importance of U.S.-European collaboration to secure a just deal—despite recent U.S. diplomatic efforts at times excluding Kyiv’s European allies.
“We all know that the destiny of this country is the destiny of Europe,” Merz said, referring to Ukraine. “So that’s the reason why we are here trying to figure out what we can do.” That includes European plans to help finance weapons for Kyiv as well as continued economic pressure on Russia, such as through sanctions.
Monday’s meeting comes a day after Trump criticized Zelensky for allegedly not reading the latest version of a U.S. peace proposal that emerged from talks last week between U.S. negotiators and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump has previously accused Zelensky of obstructing progress, even as Putin has characterized parts of the White House’s plan as unworkable.
Record-breaking trade surplus. China became the first country on Monday to have its accumulated trade surplus exceed $1 trillion. Although Trump’s trade war has reduced U.S. imports from China, Beijing has found plenty of customers elsewhere, leading Chinese exports to increase 5.9 percent since last November.
From car parts to solar panels, Beijing has prioritized trade with Africa, Europe, Latin America, and Southeast Asia—all while cutting back its purchases of U.S. soybeans and other key products by around one-fifth. As of now, Beijing sells more than twice as much to the European Union as it buys. Chinese companies have also moved some of their final assembly factories to other countries to circumvent high U.S. tariffs. In exchange, many nations have capitalized on China’s eagerness to trade as a way to diversify their own markets amid sweeping U.S. duties.
“Protectionism cannot solve the problems caused by global industrial restructuring, but will only worsen the international environment for trade,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said last Thursday in a bid to other nations not to erect trade barriers.
Failed coup attempt. Benin’s military thwarted a coup attempt on Sunday that aimed to oust President Patrice Talon from power. Although countries in West Africa have experienced several coups in recent years, including Benin’s neighbors Burkina Faso and Niger, this was the first coup attempt in Benin in decades.
Early Sunday morning, a group of soldiers led by Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri seized state TV to announce that it planned to dissolve federal institutions, suspend Benin’s constitution, and close the country’s borders. Gunfire soon erupted in the city of Cotonou, including near Talon’s residence. Coup members criticized the rise of Islamist militant attacks in the region and denounced last month’s constitutional referendum as a power grab by the ruling coalition; Benin’s new constitution creates a Senate and extends presidential terms from five to seven years, just months before the country plans to hold a presidential election.
Within hours, though, Talon confirmed that Benin’s military had stopped the coup, saying that forces loyal to Talon had “stood firm, recaptured our positions, and cleared the last pockets of resistance held by the mutineers.” Tigri is believed to be on the run, while more than a dozen other alleged participants have been arrested so far. The Economic Community of West African States said that it has deployed a standby force to help preserve Benin’s democracy.
Odds and Ends
If you thought the Louvre had maxed out on unfortunate incidents this year, think again. Museum deputy administrator Francis Steinbock confirmed on Sunday that a recent water pipe leak damaged up to 400 documents in one of the Egyptian antiquities department’s libraries. No works of art were ruined, but the affected documents were largely late 19th- and early 20th-century archaeology journals often consulted for ongoing research. French art historian Didier Rykner pointed to the incident as evidence that the Louvre is “neglecting its core missions in pursuit of a pipe dream,” referring to an ambitious, multimillion-dollar museum renovation project that Rykner argues is prioritizing unnecessary upgrades.
