Donald Trump received another Nobel Peace Prize nomination last week, this time from Cambodia, after the U.S. recently helped to broker a cease-fire after a border dispute flared up between the Southeast Asian nation and its neighbor Thailand.It’s the latest example—following earlier Nobel nominations from Israel and Pakistan.Days before Trump entered the White House for the first time in 2017, Cambodia canceled the “Angkor Sentinel” joint military exercise with the U.S. that it had held for seven straight years. While the cancellation was attributed to the ruling party’s preparation for local elections, it nonetheless marked the start of bilateral bitterness between Trump and the Southeast Asian nation. In recent years, under both Trump’s and former President Joe Biden’s Administrations, the U.S. has imposed sanctions and visa restrictions on Cambodia over its poor human rights record and corruption. At the same time, Cambodia has grown closer to China—its top trading partner, greatest investor in infrastructure and development, and increasingly a key military cooperator. Are the nominations well deserved ?
