Hun Sen To Join Asean Leaders in US Meeting With Obama

Prime Minister Hun Sen will join other Asean leaders for a special meeting with US President Barack Obama in California next month, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said Monday.

The US has sought in recent years to improve its diplomatic relations with the region, and the talks, to be held at the Sunnylands resort, in Rancho Mirage, will take place at the same venue where Obama met with Chinese President Xi Jingping in 2013.

Hor Namhong added few details about the talks, the first of their kind on US soil, expected in mid-February.

Ou Virak, head of the think tank Future Forum, said the invitation was likely a part of the broader US effort to curb China’s growing influence in Southeast Asia.

“The US is interested in Cambodia on the point that Cambodia can be a tool for China,” he said. “Thus, this worries them, as well as other Asean nations. This is an important point. I hope that Cambodia will adjust its international policies in a way that they maintain balance in the relationship with China and the West during this important visit.”

China’s attempts to claim islands and waters in the South China Sea has stirred concerns among four Asean members who have overlapping claims there: Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. That means China will need allies inside Asean, and Cambodia is a prime candidate, Ou Virak said. “China will attract Cambodia to be its tool inside Asean, in a manner that won’t let member countries of the association have solidarity,” he said. “If Asean is divided, it’s easier for China.”

In the past, China has leaned on Myanmar to disrupt Asean unity, he added, but now they are focused on Cambodia. “And if we are China’s pawn, the US can try to use other parties to break off Cambodia and turn it toward its interests. This is risky for Cambodia, which has seen bitterness since the 1970s.”

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