Cambodia to stay neutral in China-Vietnam territorial row

[geovalin]

A meeting last week between China's president, Xi Jinping, and the prime minister of Cambodia, Hun Sen, will see the Southeast Asian country maintain a neutral stance regarding the territorial dispute between China and Vietnam over the Paracel islands in the South China Sea, Hong Kong's Ta Kung Pao reports.

The paper cited Hong Kong weekly magazine Yazhou Zhoukan and said the two leaders both knew that their meeting in Shanghai on May 18 was held to keep Cambodia from allying with Vietnam over the territorial issue.

Hun has been a pro-Vietnam leader, having led a Vietnamese army to defeat communist forces in Cambodia 40 years ago. Under his rule, trade between Cambodia and Vietnam have grown rapidly to reach US$3.3 billion in 2012, 10.8% higher than in 2011. Vietnam has been Cambodia's fifth-largest source of investment, with more than US$3 billion of investment in the country's mining, electricity, telecommunications and financial sectors.

The prime minister has also paid multiple visits to China over the past two decades and formed a strategic cooperation partnership with Beijing when he visited in 2010. Hun also made it clear that ongoing territorial disputes in the South China Sea should be resolved by claimant countries through negotiation and that the disputes should not be internationalized and become multilateral issues, a view Beijing has repeatedly promoted. Cambodia has no claims of its own to the islands and reefs in the South China Sea that are contested by no fewer than six parties.

Ta Kung Pao said the only way for Hun to maintain his country's relationship with Vietnam and avoid offending China is to keep a neutral stance. China will continue to provide support for Cambodia's economic development as long as Hun maintains this stance, it said.

Meanwhile, the inflamed territorial dispute between China and Vietnam over the Chinese-controlled Paracels (or Xisha islands in Chinese) shows no sign of abating. Last week, Vietnam's patrol vessel CSB-8001 tried to approach the oil rig set up by China that has sparked the current conflict but was chased and repelled by much larger Chinese vessels.

http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20140528000058&cid=1501

[hanno]

Of course, as the government is busy selling its land and forest to both countries.

[Sheryl]

Which will make this neutrality quite a balancing act.....