Historically, Cambodia has been the victim of proxy wars between nations such as Thailand, Viet Nam, France, Japan, China, U.S.S.R., and the United States. In the 1940s, King Norodom Sihanouk negotiated a bloodless end to the Japanese occupation of Cambodia and peaceful independence from France. In the decade that followed Cambodia emerged as a bright spot in the region with rapid development, a strong focus on arts and culture, and a public education program matched only by Singapore in the region. Despite adopting a stance of neutrality during the Cold War, Cambodia was drawn into proxy wars in the 1960s which directly lead to tragic events of the 1970s that devastated the country.

This year Cambodia has unequivocally condemned Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine. Twice Cambodia has voted at the UN to condemn the invasion and demand that Russian troops withdraw from Ukraine.

Last month, on several occasions, the Prime Minister of Cambodia reaffirmed the Kingdom’s stance on the war in Ukraine. I wanted to share his comments here as they are not being broadly reported.

“We have clarified our stance clearly,” Hun Sen said during a speech at a road inauguration on March 23rd. “We cannot abstain and we do not support any invasion from one country to another country — this is our absolute stance.”

“There was a country who lobbied us to vote in abstention. We cannot do this,” Hun Sen said, without naming the country in his speech. “This is not a small thing. It is a story that creates bad habits in the world. The strong attack the weak, so in the future, if the strong attack us, who will help us?”

https://vodenglish.news/hun-sen-we-do-not-support-any-invasion-from-one-country-to-another-country/

“Cambodia takes a principled stand not just about Russia. We are always against any country invading another nation, even Russia, who is our friend and used to help us. We’ve had a relationship since the 1950s, but this will change as it has invaded Ukraine,” The Prime Minister said at the official inauguration of a hospital in Phnom Penh.

Discussing Russia’s advance on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Hun Sen said: “Such an act of aggression is unacceptable for Cambodia and we cannot be neutral. In the future, if any country acts in the same way to Cambodia, who does Cambodia have to depend on?

https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national-politics/pm-no-neutrality-ukraine-row

Cambodia is the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year and, as such, is in a leadership role in regional politics. Notably only one member of ASEAN, Myanmar which is currently represented by the military coup leaders, has supported Russian’s aggression against Ukraine.

“We are in discussions with other ASEAN members to issue a statement calling for a cease-fire, because without a cease-fire, human life and property will continue to die and be destroyed, making negotiations impossible,” he said. “We must, therefore, decide to call for a cease-fire, which is desirable for negotiations to find a solution. This is on behalf of ASEAN.”

“Hopefully, our Russian friend will understand, because what has been done in the past is contrary to our Cambodian policy on foreign policy, in which we do not support the separation of a state. This is the first point,” Hun Sen said. “Second, we do not support the use of force and readiness to use force or the threatened use of force.”

https://www.voanews.com/a/cambodian-leader-defends-un-vote-on-ukraine-invasion-/6469158.html