Chair not to blame for communique failure [-More undiplomatic denial from Sin Serey, the Cambodian ambassador in S'pore]

August 30, 2012
The Nation
Opinion

I wish to make some clarifications to the article published in The Nation on August 25 under the title "Asean and China: Navigating Turbulent Waters Ahead" by Yang Razali Kassim.

When reading this article, one may wonder how ignorant and unscholarly this so-called "senior fellow" at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore) is. For sure he may have been doing either sloppy work or he has a particular political goal. But it is sad for someone with the position of "senior fellow" to have written such an article without having the real knowledge and information on Asean, both collectively and individually.

First, it is ignorant to say the "Asean chair, who refused to seek a compromise position, resulting in the non-issuance of a joint communiqué". On the contrary, it was the Asean chair that had attempted from July 9 to 13 to seek a political compromise on the language related to the South China Sea in the joint communiqué. Cambodia, as chair of Asean, wanted to have a compromise formula for the South China Sea. Cambodia had circulated a paper and written explanations. But what should we do when two members of Asean put national and bilateral interests above Asean's interest? The two Asean member-states decided to stick to their positions, and one of them even stated it was "non-negotiable". Who should have been held responsible for the non-issuance of the joint communiqué? Cambodia's position was to observe Asean practice when there is no consensus on a particular issue.

Second, it is also uneducated to say, "No core Asean member in the role of chair would have allowed the annual meeting to close without a joint communiqué." This is an insult to all new members of Asean! As stipulated in the Asean Charter, both in letter and spirit, all Asean member-states are equal. How can this so-called "senior fellow" have written his article this way? In Asean, there are no core members. So every Asean member is an integral part of Asean. The end of the Cold War meant that there is no more "ideologically opposed". Cambodia is not a "socialist or central command" state. This is an insult to Cambodia and other new members of Asean. Cambodia is a democratic and open society. Where is this "senior fellow" from, another planet? Again, there is no "deeper problem between mainstream Asean and outlying Asean". What this "senior fellow" wanted to suggest or see is a deeper division within Asean.

Third, how can someone of this status "senior fellow" try to argue that "Cambodia is proving to be a difficult addition"? This is another insult to Cambodia. Our bilateral issue with Thailand has no impact on Asean. It was purely Thailand's aggression against Cambodia. Since joining Asean, Cambodia has been contributing actively to Asean in many different ways. One should remember that, only three years after joining Asean, Cambodia first assumed its chairmanship in 2002. Cambodia had worked hard to successfully negotiate and sign the Declaration for the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), which continues to be relevant today in settling the disputes in the South China Sea. In fact, Asean's Six-Point Principles, which the Asean foreign ministers issued in the form of a statement on July 20, are contained in the DOC.

Fourth, to argue that "Beijing leaned on Phnom Penh, a close ally, to influence the handling of the South China Sea disputes in Asean's joint communiqué" is to completely misunderstand how things actually work in Asean. While this "senior fellow" has once again insulted Cambodia, he should have known that the South China Sea is a very sensitive issue for all countries concerned. Cambodia, as chair of Asean, wanted all parties concerned to fully respect the DOC and the DOC Guidelines, and to work together toward implementing all agreed joint projects between Asean and China. At the same time, since taking over from Indonesia, Cambodia has pushed for the series of meetings of the Asean SOM Working Group to draft key elements of the Code of Conduct prior to the 45th Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting in July.

Fifth, to state that "China has imposed its will on Asean without lifting a finger" and "All it had to do was to whisper in the ear of a regional ally" is once again a great insult to Cambodia. Cambodia, a nation with great civilisation and culture of many thousands of years, is not a banana republic. Cambodia has not been and will never be kowtowing to any country. Despite Cambodia's great efforts and good will, the joint communiqué was totally blocked from being issued for the reasons as stated above.

Sin Serey

Ambassador of Cambodia to Singapore