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As I see it | Why Biden’s latest Asean overtures won’t weaken Cambodia’s China embrace
- Joe Biden may get a frosty reception from Asean host Cambodia during this weekend’s summit, following recent US lectures on human rights, democracy
- Meanwhile, this week global rival China pledged more than US$27 million in developmental funds to Cambodia during a visit by Premier Li Keqiang
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This weekend, United States President Joe Biden will meet and hold bilateral talks with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen during the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
Biden, unlike China’s Premier Li Keqiang, is not expected to come to the Southeast Asian nation bearing gifts or other tangible deliverables.
Li, China’s representative at the regional summit, on Wednesday witnessed the inking of some 18 bilateral deals with Hun Sen.
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In contrast, Biden’s meeting with Hun Sen – the first between the Cambodian leader and an American president in a decade – is expected to be frosty if recent developments are anything to go by.
Case in point, during an August meeting, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Cambodia to be fully transparent about Chinese military activities at its Ream Naval Base, warning that “an exclusive presence would risk damaging Cambodia’s sovereignty, regional security, and Asean unity”.
Blinken also pressed Hun Sen to free all activists held on politically motivated charges and create more democratic space ahead of next year’s national elections.
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