Opinion | Coronavirus gives Vietnam, Cambodia a chance to boost ties with Washington and Beijing

As coronavirus crisis continues, Phnom Penh has shown solidarity with Beijing, while Vietnam joined US-led Quad partnership set up to counter China’s influence

The neighbours’ allegiances have a bearing on great power rivalry in Asia

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Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (left) greets Vietnam’s Nguyen Xuan Phuc ahead of talks in Hanoi. As a major power rivalry re-emerges, the neighbouring countries may find themselves in opposing camps. Photo: AP

Published: 5:00am, 16 Apr 2020Updated: 12:57pm, 16 Apr 2020

As Cambodia increasingly aligns with China, Vietnam warms up to the United States. For the Southeast Asian neighbours who share a bitter past, the coronavirus pandemic has provided opportunities to cement allegiances that have a bearing on great power rivalry in our region.

Cambodia is China’s staunchest ally in Southeast Asia. Beijing has kept it close with economic, political and military support. It is the only Asean country to be a dialogue partner to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a China-led security-plus organisation involving mostly Central and Eurasian countries.

Relations with the West went downhill in 2017 when the ruling party accused foreign powers of sponsoring a “colour revolution” and the country’s high court dissolved the main opposition party. The European Union’s removal of preferential tariffs for Cambodian clothing and footwear exports earlier this year has hit hard. Last year, 43 per cent of the country’s foreign direct investment came from China.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (centre) attends a session of the National Assembly in Phnom Penh on April 10. Photo: EPA-EFE

Growing affinity with China manifested in how Cambodia reacted differently when Covid-19 first surfaced in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year. Unlike many of its Southeast Asian neighbours, it did not institute travel restrictions against China and did not repatriate its citizens from the city, telling them to stay and show solidarity with their hosts.

Prime Minister Hun Sen initially planned a trip to the Hubei capital to console Cambodian students quarantined there, but this was called off for safety reasons. He instead flew to Beijing in early February where he met President Xi Jinping, becoming one of the few world leaders to visit China while the country was in the throes of a public health crisis.