(MENAFN) US President Donald Trump asserted Friday he averted escalating hostilities between Thailand and Cambodia that threatened to shatter a delicate peace arrangement he facilitated.

"I stopped a war in Thailand, in Cambodia," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after initially refusing to identify which specific conflict he took credit for resolving. "That war would have been very costly in terms of lives, but even costly in terms of us."

Trump revealed he leveraged tariff threats against the Southeast Asian nations, reinforcing his frequently articulated stance that without authority to impose import levies, "other countries would use tariffs on us, and we would have no fair means of fighting back."

The American president has mounted a defense of his tariff imposition powers as the Supreme Court weighs litigation challenging Trump's constitutional authority to deploy them.

Wednesday witnessed one civilian fatality and three additional injuries during cross-border violence between Thailand and Cambodia, with mutual accusations flying days after Thailand suspended a bilateral peace agreement.

Cambodia evacuated hundreds from Prey Chan village following the incident, provincial spokesman Norng Vuthy informed reporters Thursday, per media.

The Royal Thai Army rejected claims that Thai troops initiated "unprovoked shooting" and asserted Cambodian soldiers "fired weapons into Thai territory."

Thai forces "took cover and returned fire toward the source using only necessary force in accordance with rules of engagement to suppress the incident, protect national sovereignty, and ensure personnel safety," the army stated on the U.S. social media platform Facebook.

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