Thailand-Cambodia border conflict escalates, revealing deeper regional instability and the declining capacity of ASEAN to maintain peace.

President Trump took a victory lap Monday after Cambodia and Thailand reached a cease-fire deal to stop deadly fighting that erupted between the two Southeast Asian neighbors last week. On Saturday, the president had called up the leaders of the two countries and halted trade negotiations with them in a bid to stop the conflict.

Trump gets through to both sides by citing the advantages of coming to terms rather than risking important trade deals with Washington.

Thailand and Cambodia exchanged heavy artillery fire on Friday as their worst fighting in more than a decade stretched for a second day, despite calls from the region and beyond for an immediate ceasefire in an escalating border conflict that has killed at least 16 people.

As the Cambodia-Thailand border conflict enters its fourth day, monks, dancers, and civilians offer shelter, food, and aid to those over 168,000 people displaced.