Thitinan vs Cambodian Ambassador [M'am You Ay]

Jul 30, 2012
By Bangkok Pundit
Asian Correspondant

Thitinan had an op-ed on Friday in the Bangkok Post entitled “China, US widen Asean rifts”. The Cambodian Ambassador responds in a letter to the editor in the Bangkok Post. BP has excerpted some of the choice insults:

I wish to clear up some points of misperception written by Thitinan Pongsudhirak in the opinion section of the Bangkok Post on July 27 entitled “Asean rifts widen as China, US rivalry grows”.

First, those who said the Peace Palace was ”funded and adorned by Chinese arts” are simply ignorant people.

…

Second, the assertion that China has become an ”open patron state of Phnom Penh” with more than US$10 billion (310 billion baht) in aid and investment is purely insulting.…

Third, the allegation that Cambodia ”shared the draft version of the joint statement with the Chinese, who then vetoed it” is extremely disparaging and slanderous. Those who make such scathing remarks against Cambodia have no other intention than to defame Cambodia’s credibility.

When and where did Mr Thitinan obtain this information, or did he copy it blindly from one other journalist without credible facts to substantiate their allegations? Or is it a deliberate smear campaign against Cambodia?

…

The answer is clear: these two Asean countries had their own hidden plan to sabotage the AMM and made the JC a hostage of their bilateral disputes.

BP: She obviously went to the Kasit School of Diplomacy. Interestingly, the words “incorrect” and “wrong” do not appear once in the Ambassador’s letter. Perhaps, their usage may have been a better way to convey the point….