Thai Leader’s Hard Line on Cambodia Clash Risks Irking Trump

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul is using fresh border skirmishes with Cambodia to tap nationalist sentiment at home before an election. In doing so he’s gambling it won’t unduly irritate US President Donald Trump, who claimed credit for ending a previous outbreak of fighting.

It’s a delicate line to walk for Anutin, who insists the Cambodia dispute is separate from Thailand’s trade negotiations with the US. Trump though has linked them previously — in fact, he used the threat of trade penalties to prod Thailand and Cambodia into a ceasefire earlier this year.