Cambodia urges U.S. not to use summit with Asean to create rift and instability in region

The United States should not use its special summit with the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to create a rift and instability in the region, Cambodian scholars said here on Tuesday. US President Joe Biden is due to meet with Asean leaders, including Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who is the Asean chair for 2022, in Washington D.C. later this week.

Asean groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Kin Phea, director-general of the International Relations Institute at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said Biden should use the meeting to express support for Asean’s post-Covid-19 socioeconomic recovery, rather than to press the bloc to follow its scenarios or agendas against other countries.

“What the US should do is encouraging Asean to adhere to its principle of centrality, solidarity and unity,” he told Xinhua. Phea said the US should respect Asean’s rights in making decisions and should not use economic, political or security pressure to bargain with Asean or to force Asean to make decisions in its favor.

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