Donald Trump, the president of the United States of America, vowed on Wednesday to help Thailand and Cambodia end their latest bout of fighting in which more than half a million people have been displaced on both sides of the border. There is only one problem with Mr Trump’s assertion: he had already claimed to have ended the conflict when he sat with leaders of both countries to sign a truce pact in October. That deal has lasted barely a few weeks, with the Southeast Asian neighbours once again bombarding each other’s territory with heavy fire. Both countries are in periods of political transition. The Cambodian prime minister, Hun Manet, has been in power for only two years and is yet to step out of the shadows of his father, Hun Sen, who ruled the country for nearly four decades. A seemingly deferential call with Mr Hun, the father, amid a previous round of border tensions landed the then Thai prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, in a political soup, leading to her impeachment earlier this year. This backdrop makes it difficult for either side to appear to be conceding ground. But continuing conflict between the two countries could pull other Southeast Asian nations into having to pick sides. That is dangerous for peace and stability in the region.

Yet, in many ways, the collapse of the Thailand-Cambodia peace deal epitomises the perils of treating diplomacy as a quick-fix test of power and will. Mr Trump claims to have ended multiple wars in the first 11 months of his second term — between Thailand and Cambodia, India and Pakistan, Israel and Iran, Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Azerbaijan and Armenia are among them. He has cited these deals to repeatedly portray himself as a deserving candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. Some nations and organisations have chosen to massage his ego: Pakistan has nominated him for the Nobel, while FIFA has presented him with its own prize. But the reality is less flattering. There is no peace in Gaza, with Israel continuing with daily attacks. Relations between India and Pakistan, and those between Israel and Iran, remain on edge. Mr Trump’s attempts to force a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine have not succeeded so far. And the US appears to be preparing for an attack on Venezuela. Mr Trump has power, but appears to lack another ingredient key to peacemaking: patience. Could regional blocs, such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, succeed where Mr Trump has failed?