Cambodia to ASEAN: Keep out of South China Sea issue

By Lauren Crothers

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AA) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has warned a Southeast Asian regional bloc that making a statement on an upcoming ruling over a dispute in the South China Sea could be a divisive move.

The Phnom Penh Post on Wednesday quoted the premier as saying that his Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) “does not support, and more so is against, any declaration by ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] to support the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in relation to the South China Sea dispute”.

He accused “some countries” beyond the region of having been pressuring the 10-member bloc to make a stand.

“The CPP foresees this issue, and views it as the worst political collusion in the framework of international politics, the result of which would lead to division among ASEAN members themselves and between ASEAN and China,” the Post quoted him as saying.

The ruling is to be issued next month by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in a case brought against China by the Philippines in January 2013.

The filing pertains to “the dispute with China over the maritime jurisdiction of the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea” -- Manila's name for the region -- and an area in particular called the Scarborough Shoal.

The filing was rejected by China that February and in August 2013, China responded again, saying that “it does not accept the arbitration initiated by the Philippines.”

In an ASEAN context, half of the bloc -- Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines -- have all made claims in the disputed maritime territory, which is rich in oil and gas.

It was during the ASEAN summit in Phnom Penh in 2012 -- when Cambodia was the chair of the bloc -- that the group failed, for the first time, to issue a joint communique on the issue, thus sparking criticism that Cambodia was beholden to China on the matter.

Just two weeks ago, ASEAN ministers released and then swiftly retracted a statement on the issue. It had expressed concern about rising tensions and warned against militarization in the area.