Summary:
- Cambodia and Russia have a long-standing friendship dating back to the 1950s.
- The Russian ambassador to Cambodia posted a rather vicious message on Twitter.
- Cambodia urgently needed emergency aid after the fall of the Khmer Rouge in the 1980s but was boycotted.
- Cambodia is still economically dependent on the American and European markets for export.
- The European lobby has convinced Hun Sen to support a pro-Western resolution against Russia.
- To keep the line with Moscow open, Cambodia has only signed UN resolutions with a humanitarian undertone.
- Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen has announced that he will make his son Hun Manet prime minister next summer, albeit after the national elections.
- The West disapproves of this undemocratic shift in power, but Hun Sen does not want the EU or US to interfere.
PHNOM PENH, 29 Oct. Hun Sen, the prime minister of Cambodia, is currently traversing a diplomatic minefield. While he supports UN resolutions condemning Putin, he does not want to endanger their long-standing friendship. He also makes an effort to rely less on the West politically and economically which suggests that Cambodia will remain a Russian pawn in the future.
Cambodia supported the UN resolution last month denouncing Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territory. Hun Sen, the prime minister of Cambodia, also ratified a resolution opposing the invasion of Ukraine earlier this year. As a result, Anatoly Borovik, the Russian ambassador to Cambodia, tweeted a rather scathing message. “To jog Cambodia’s memory, Borovik wrote, “Moscow supported Phnom Penh during the most trying time in its history. It makes reference to the two nations’ long-standing friendship. Political analysts are saying that Cambodia will remain a Russian pawn, no matter how much pressure the West applies.
Erratic 1980s
This relationship dates back to the middle of the 1950s, when France had just granted Cambodia independence, and the Soviet Union backed Norodom Sihanouk, the monarch at the time who refused to choose a side in the Cold War between the West and the Eastern Bloc.
However, Borovik’s tweet alludes to the 1980s, when the Vietnamese army overthrew Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot and took control of Cambodia.
Boycott
The United States wanted the Vietnamese occupier to leave because it had not yet fully processed the Vietnam War. Many Western nations backed this demand. Following the destruction caused by the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia desperately needed emergency aid, but it was shunned. Only a few nations made an effort to provide food and medications to the affected population, with the Soviet Union taking the lead.
Russian professor Dmitry Mosyakov recalls that time period: “There were also many Russian doctors, technicians, and engineers when I came to Cambodia in 1984 as a reporter for the state news agency TASS.” He currently serves as the director of the Southeast Asia centre at the Institute of Oriental Studies in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. According to Mosyakov, “The Soviets were very close to the Cambodians, almost like a family.”
Hun Sen, the prime minister
Hun Sen becomes the new prime minister of Cambodia in 1985, a year after Mosyakov’s arrival. He was once a Khmer Rouge soldier who later turned against his country and was installed in power by the Vietnamese. He is still in office today, 37 years later, and imposes an authoritarian regime on the nation, imprisons critics, and rigs the elections. The European Union and the United States are both disapprovingly watching.
It is therefore remarkable that the European lobby was successful in persuading Hun Sen to back a pro-Western resolution against Russia. This is due to the fact that exports from Cambodia remain economically dependent on the American and European markets. The prime minister wants to change this in the near future. He is currently considering the Eurasian Economic Union, which is headed by Russia, as one example “claims Chhengpor Aun, a journalist from Cambodia. For publications like “The Diplomat” and “Voice of America,” among others, he writes about the foreign policy of his nation.
Ambiguous
Cambodia has only ratified UN resolutions with a humanitarian undertone in order to maintain communication with Moscow. Chhengpor Aun explains, “For instance, Cambodia supported a declaration on the protection of civilians but voted against suspending Russia’s rights in the UN Rights Council.
Dmitry Mosyakov, a professor, regrets Cambodia’s ambiguous stance. “It was good that our ambassador brought up the support that Cambodia received in the 1980s,” he replies. “At the moment, Russia and the majority of Southeast Asian nations get along well. For instance, the new president of the Philippines wants to improve ties with Moscow. We also have excellent relations with Myanmar, Vietnam, and Laos, but not as much with Cambodia.
Communism
Relations between the two nations cooled off in the early 1990s after ideological ties to communism were severed. In a very short period of time, Russian assistance was reduced, and the West reclaimed power.
Some Hun Sen party veterans would rather not support UN resolutions against Putin due to this historical connection. Journalist Chhengpor Aun claims, “This is nothing more than a sentiment from the past.” In any case, the prime minister’s authoritarian domestic policy is much less practical than his foreign policy.
Theatre coup
Thus, Chhengpor Aun alludes to the impending major coup de theatre in Cambodian politics. Hun Manet will be appointed prime minister by Hun Sen next summer, though this will happen after the general elections. In Hun Sen’s lengthy career, “this will be the final and most significant game,” says Mosyakov. “I believe that many things, including international relations, will change with the son in power.”
Hun Sen does not want the EU or the US to interfere with his political plans, even though it is clear that the West disapproves of this undemocratic change in power. Nevertheless, the western nations are represented at the annual ASEAN summit in November, which this year is being presided over by Cambodia.
From East to West
The annual meeting of ASEAN, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, also invites several influential world leaders. A delegation from the United States, Europe, China, and Russia is scheduled to arrive in Phnom Penh.
As the Khmer proverb goes, “merl gee, merl aing,” the prime minister must pay close attention to both himself and the other people to ensure that he doesn’t say anything inappropriate “Chhengpor Aun sums up the circumstance. For Hun Sen’s political and economic plans to succeed, everyone at the table will be necessary.
In any case, it appears that history is repeating itself. A small nation like Cambodia finds itself suddenly smack dab in the middle of East and West, much like during the Cold War.
