The Royal Academy of Cambodia holds a roundtable discussion over an exchange of attacks on Facebook between the US and Chinese embassies on Tuesday. LONG KIMMARITA
MORE than 200 researchers, social analysts, government officials and students attended a forum organised by the Royal Academy of Cambodia on Tuesday to discuss the recent war of words between the US and Chinese embassies.
Royal Academy of Cambodia president Sok Touch said at the meeting that the bickering between the two superpowers had caused general circles to worry that Cambodia might go down its old historical path.
He said it called for a comprehensive discussion to evaluate what is going on.
In mid-April, the US embassy in Phnom Penh wrote on its Facebook page that relations between China and Cambodia did not create jobs or help industry when compared to the trade between the Kingdom and the US.
The Post drew an immediate response from the Chinese embassy in Phnom Penh.
It outlined its development of infrastructure in Cambodia, including constructing 31 highways and eight bridges over a total length of more than 3,000km, as well as building hydroelectric dams.
The exchange subsequently became a hot topic for discussion with each side claiming support for their view.
Sok Touch defended the government’s policies, which are inclining towards China, saying the administration had no intention of repeating history.
“Prime Minister Hun Sen walks in mixed colours – not too much pro-China, not too much pro-US.
“Whoever is more beneficial for Cambodia, Cambodia turns to. If China gives a lot, then we turn to China; if the US wants to win, please give as much as they do.
“For example, if the US offers a great deal of money and Hun Sen refuses to turn to them, that would indicate that Hun Sen is strongly allied with China. But have they offered yet?” Touch said.
He also compared Cambodia to a bride that the two countries are trying to woo by providing aid.
However, he said the Kingdom now is a 60-year-old bride who can make her own decisions, unlike in the past when Cambodia was a young, easy-going bride who was easy for the superpowers to sway.
Touch said the US embassy’s post regarding trade relations between China and the Kingdom was an attack on the Chinese government, while China’s response amounted to self-defence.
US embassy spokesperson Emily Zeeberg declined to comment on Tuesday.
Independent social and political analyst Meas Nee said the forum was just a mechanism to defend the government, while Cambodia is seen to be clearly turning towards China. This stance, he said, could lead to a loss of many benefits from the US.
“If Cambodia really doesn’t need the help of other countries and can survive on its own, it’s Cambodia’s greatest achievement to resist foreign influences.
“But if Cambodia loses dependence on one country and runs to depend on another country, that does not prove that Cambodia is on the right track. In such a position, Cambodia must be smart,” Nee said.
He stressed that the situation depended on the ability of the government to curb the influence of the two superpowers, as Cambodia has its Constitution stipulating that it is a neutral country which should not overly depend on any other.
