At a rally in Pennsylvania on Tuesday night, President Trump told the crowd he will be "making a phone call" to the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia to urge peace and help resolve their ongoing border dispute.

"Who else could say, 'I'm going to make a phone call and stop a war of two very powerful countries. We're making peace through strength," Trump told the audience.

Heavy fighting has erupted again earlier this week along the 500-mile Thailand-Cambodia border, leaving at least a dozen people dead and forcing more than half a million to flee.

Footage of the chaos:

In July, Trump pressured both countries with potential trade restrictions, which helped produce a temporary peace deal over the summer, but the conflict has since spiraled out of control in recent days.

"Bangkok's resistance is a test for Trump's tariff play, but the tariff has always been a blunt instrument," Chong Ja Ian, a political science professor at the National University of Singapore, told Reuters, adding, "Whether it can get a lasting ceasefire over longstanding and deep-seated animosities has been and is doubtful."

Trump has recently positioned himself as a mediator in several international disputes as part of his pursuit of a Nobel Peace Prize. The US also signaled to Kyiv this week that reaching a peace agreement by Christmas Day is crucial.