In Trump, Families of Cambodian Troops Detained by Thailand See Hope

“Papa” is the only word that 2-year-old Ros Soveayo can say. But his father has not been home to Prey Thom Village, Cambodia, in months.

His father, Hong Chanvimean, is a prisoner of war in Thailand. He is one of 18 soldiers who were detained in July, after a border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia exploded into armed conflict. Dozens were killed before a cease-fire was brokered by Malaysia and the United States.

But the truce remains tenuous, as does Mr. Hong’s fate.

Now there is a glimmer of hope for him and the other P.O.Ws. On Sunday in Malaysia, President Trump — who has taken credit for ending the war between Thailand and Cambodia — is expected to oversee the signing of a pact to resolve the disagreement between the two countries. It would come just weeks after a plan outlined by Mr. Trump led to a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and the release of the hostages held by Hamas.

Cambodia expects the P.O.W.s to be released soon after a deal is signed. But Thailand has previously laid out four demands, including the resettlement of Cambodians living near the border, to agree to their release.

Still, both nations have agreed on guidelines for a withdrawal of forces and the clearing of mines. Those terms are likely to be outlined in Sunday’s accord and could pave the way for a release of the prisoners.

The fate of the P.O.W.s has become a pressure point for Cambodian authorities. It has inflamed public anger against Thailand but has also underscored how little leverage Cambodia has against its much bigger neighbor. After the soldiers were detained, thousands of people marched across several cities in Cambodia, calling for the release of their troops. They held up the photos of the soldiers — as well as those of Mr. Trump.

Pek Thorn’s husband, Leap Thea, is among the P.O.Ws. She and the family members of other detainees met with Cambodia’s prime minister, Hun Manet, last month. He told them that they were being held in good conditions but that he could not predict when they would return home, Ms. Pek said.

Thailand says the P.O.W.s are being held lawfully. It has allowed the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit the prisoners several times, but the I.C.R.C. said it could not publicly comment on its observations, as per convention.

The conflict erupted along the Thai-Cambodian border on July 24, each side accusing the other of firing first. At least 40 people were killed, including civilians, and hundreds of thousands of others were displaced.

Within five days of the conflict, a cease-fire was reached. Malaysia, this year’s chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, tried to broker a halt to the fighting on the first day. But it was Mr. Trump's involvement on the third day that gave the process greater momentum, according to a Malaysian official involved in the talks.

Cambodia had asked Mr. Trump to intervene, according to the Malaysian official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to divulge details of the private talks. The president agreed, calling both leaders to tell them he would stop tariff negotiations if there was no end to the fighting.

“I said, ‘I don’t want to trade with anybody that’s killing each other,’ so we just got that one solved,” Mr. Trump told reporters last month.

After the fighting ended, Cambodia nominated Mr. Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize and talked about renaming a highway after him.

But the prospects of lasting peace are dim. The two sides have yet to discuss how to resolve the underlying issue of the dispute: how to define the border. They do not even use the same maps to depict the area.

After the cease-fire was announced on July 28, Ms. Pek said she did not hear from her husband and scoured border areas for 10 days. Eventually, she saw a photo of him and other P.O.Ws. on social media.

Men Kimly is hoping her third child, Sar Las, will be freed by Thailand. She got a letter from him dated Sept. 4 in which he wrote that he was sleeping in quarters that were comfortable and that he had enough food to eat. He told his mother that he missed home and his 4-year-old daughter very much.

About a month later, he wrote again.

“I don’t know when I can return,” Mr. Sar wrote, according to the letter, which was written on a Red Cross letterhead, dated Oct. 9 and seen by The New York Times. “I miss you so much, Mom.”

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