08/01/2025
To Donald Trump's
On July 17th, 2025, the new German Chancellor, Fedreich Merz, had a message for President Donald Trump: "Stay with us, stay with Europeans."
Two weeks later, on July 24th, 2025, Thailand launched airstrikes on Cambodia over disputed Temples. The attack stopped after President Donald Trump intervened on July 27th.
My plea to President Donald Trump is to stay with us, stay with Cambodians.
Let me address the elephant in the room first: Cambodia was unable to develop as many international observers had hoped. There are significant problems and concerns. There seems to be some conflict every decade or so. Cambodia is addressing these concerns.
Thailand's 5-day assault on Cambodia was a strategic move that cannot be overlooked. Thailand utilized every tool in its arsenal: airstrikes, drones, howitzer artillery, and rockets. Was this a mere border dispute over a temple or a full-fledged invasion? Let's examine the facts: Thailand launched attacks at 11 different locations, spanning the entire 800km border and several other provinces in Cambodia. The extended battle line, far from the disputed temples, is clear evidence that this was not about the temple. The border conflict was a smokescreen for territorial expansion. Thailand's invasion plan was only halted due to President Donald Trump's tariff threat. Cambodia was on the brink of destruction, and it was President Donald Trump who inadvertently prevented Thailand's expansion plan from materializing.
In recent years, Thailand, too, has turned increasingly towards China. Since the 2014 coup in Thailand, China has become the top arms supplier to Thailand, alarming Washington. Thailand signed up with China's Belt and Road Initiative. Thailand signed an agreement to procure weapons jointly with China. The Thai government's Defence Technology Institute (DTI) will set up Thailand's first commercial joint defense facility with China in the northeastern province of Khon Kaen, Thailand. Thailand participates in a Chinese military exercise called "Falcon Strike," while pretending to be a US ally. We should note that Russia conducts military exercises with China. China's arms sales to Thailand are equivalent to a political and military alliance. Thailand wants to have its cake and eat it too.
China's arms sales to Cambodia are relatively small compared to Thailand, which is in the billions of dollars, and it's increasing every single year, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The only difference is that Cambodia had no choice but to buy arms from China. Thailand can buy from the United States, but it chooses to buy from China, a calculated realignment with Beijing. China invests $30B in Thailand with over $120B in bilateral trade, while Cambodia accounts for only a fraction of that. Cambodia-China bilateral trade is less than $20B. China's investment in Cambodia is just several billion dollars. The real Chinese ally is Thailand, not Cambodia.
While Bangkok points fingers at Phnom Penh for aligning with China, Thailand is guilty of the very thing it's accusing its neighbor of, but on a much larger scale. Unlike Phnom Penh, Thailand not only aligns with China but also pretends to be a US ally. Thailand's double-dealing is a betrayal of trust at its finest.
Arms sales to Thailand are understandable if arms are for defensive purposes, but to bomb your neighbor into submission over a disputed temple is not defensive at all. To use American arms to coerce Cambodia from seeking the world court to adjudicate the disputed claims is not only Russian-like, but it goes against the spirit of the American end-user agreement.
The world cannot ignore Cambodia. Since the United States dropped 2.7M tons of bombs on Cambodia (more than WW2 combined), it has been through hell and back. From civil war to genocide, Cambodia came back. Since then, the world has come together to build this project. Cambodia is the world's project. Please stay with us. Please help us see that this project is completed and successful.
I ask President Donald Trump to stay with us, stay with Cambodia. In the age of might is right, Cambodia cannot be another victim of imperialist expansionism, just like what Russia is doing to Ukraine. Thailand and Cambodia have overlapping cultural claims. We cannot allow Thailand to swallow Cambodia and erase the Khmer culture and identity that dates back two millennia. Kyiv was the first East Slavic city. Moscow is now trying to rewrite history and claim it as Russian. Angkor Wat was the center of the Khmer state a millennium ago; now, Bangkok, too, wants to rewrite history and reclaim it as Thailand.
Thank you, President Donald Trump, for your intervention between Thailand and Cambodia. Millions of Cambodians and I are rooting for your Nobel Prize nomination, as you truly deserve it. I will make it my personal goal to campaign for your Nobel Peace Prize. 360,000 Americans who identified as Cambodian will also root for you. God bless you and God bless the United States of America!
