Sothea Nim
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| Former President Fidel Ramos, 88, is representing the Philippines in bilateral talks with Beijing over the South China Sea. AFP |
The South China Sea dispute has put Cambodia and Asean in the international spotlight and some of the headlines have shown the Southeast Asia region in a bad light.
Cambodia has become one of the main actors in this dispute, even though it is not directly related to it. From the very start, Cambodia has chosen a very clear position: the dispute should be resolved through a bilateral approach between the claimant states and there should not be any involvement of any international body or any other country.
The countries that are directly impacted by the dispute include Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
In July 2012, in the midst of the South China Sea dispute, the Philippines and Vietnam pushed Asean to adopt a resolution that related to the dispute. Cambodia and Laos were the main advocates against the notion. Consequently, Asean failed to issue its Joint Communiqué at the end of the Asean Summit.
On Tuesday, July 12, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague ruled against China’s claimed areas over the South China Sea. Once again, in July 2016, during the Asean Summit in Laos, six Asean nations voted for Asean to issue an official statement supporting the verdict, while four voted against. As a result, Cambodia once again was seen and accused of being a pawn of Beijing.
Some local and international analysts have accused the Cambodian government of taking sides with Beijing over this issue. Some analysts claim Cambodia has more to lose from its choice in the long run. Others claim that Cambodia, especially the ruling party, is playing with two superpowers for its own benefit over the issue.
For instance, during a forum in Washington, organized by the Heritage Foundation, US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood claimed: “Hun Sen is only playing us against the Chinese. He gets benefits from us, he gets benefits from the Chinese, and he continues to do what he wants.”
Some also expressed their worries and fears regarding the South China Sea’s impact on Cambodia. As Ou Virak, an independent analyst and the president of the Future Forum, wrote on his Facebook page: “Reminds me of the days when world powers treated Cambodia as a little pawn to be sacrificed. The results of that was massive bombings, killing fields, foreign occupation and a population so devastated we couldn’t trust one another on anything and continue to treat each other with suspicion, a population so devastated that some could be so filthy rich but yet feel he/she doesn’t have enough.”
Some also said Cambodia was jeopardizing its relationships with Asean because it refuses to take sides with some Asean countries over the South China Sea dispute.
From my personal observation, many have criticized Cambodia for its position on this issue. However, I disagree with most critics. I actually believe the government made the right choices and has taken the right course of action.
From Cambodia’s point of view, the position that the country has chosen to stand for makes sense. For instance, in 2008, tensions rose between Cambodia and Thailand over the border dispute around the Preah Vihear Temple.
In 1962, under Prince Norodom Sihanouk’s leadership, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled that the temple belonged to Cambodia. In 2008, the border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand rose again concerning the surrounding areas of the temple.
In November 2013, Cambodia, under Prime Minister Hun Sen, decided to bring Thailand back to the ICJ again to clear up the issue. On November 11, 2013, the ICJ declared in a unanimous decision that the 1962 ICJ judgment had awarded all of the promontory of Preah Vihear to Cambodia and that Thailand had an obligation to withdraw any Thai military, police, or guard forces stationed in that area.
However, Thailand decided not to withdraw its troops from the disputed area after the 2013 ICJ ruling, which brought the two countries to multiple military stand-offs. Throughout the entire duration of the dispute, neither Asean nor the UN nor any country ever issued any official statement to support the ICJ’s ruling on the dispute and urge Thailand to withdraw troops from the disputed area.
Looking into Cambodia’s political context, for years the opposition and some local critics of the ruling party have played the nationalist card when attacking the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). For instance, Sam Rainsy often called Mr. Hun Sen a puppet of Vietnam.
This nationalist political rhetoric has helped Mr. Rainsy gain a huge amount of supporters, caused many Cambodians to distrust the ruling party in handling national issues between Cambodia and Vietnam and created a polarized environment in Cambodia’s political climate.
Overall, it contributed to the trust deficit Cambodians have towards their government. Nationalist political rhetoric comes at the cost of national unity.
However, the government’s position on the South China Sea dispute has indicated some changes in Cambodia’s political direction by pulling itself away from the influence of Vietnam, and that will definitely neutralize the opposition’s nationalist political ammunition.
In the long run, this change will bring Cambodians closer and increase trust in the CPP in handling national issues between Cambodia and Vietnam. It will also help enhance national unity amongst citizens from both sides of the aisles.
Taking a closer look at different events and issues, including the South China Sea and at how the government has handled them, I see the government has handled the issues effectively. I see no reason for Cambodia to be fractured with Asean over its position on the South China Sea dispute.
Cambodia and the US will always need each other and work together. No one stepped in during the border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand, which led to military clashes and casualties. The government effectively handled the issue all on its own.
In the long run, the government’s choice over the South China Sea dispute will benefit and help Cambodia more than it can harm it. So far, the whole event reminds me of a quote by Sun Tzu, from The Art of War: “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.”
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