Wednesday, 15 December 2010
By Sebastian Strangio
Phnom Penh Post
Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew said Cambodia should not have been accepted into ASEAN due to its lack of shared values with the bloc’s founding members, according to a secret diplomatic cable released yesterday by the website WikiLeaks.
The cable, marked “confidential” and sent by the United States embassy in Singapore, documents a 2007 meeting between Lee and top American officials. At the meeting, Lee reportedly said ASEAN should not have admitted Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam as members in the 1990s.
“The older members of ASEAN shared common values and an antipathy to communism,” the cable states, describing Lee’s views.
“Those values had been ‘muddied’ by the new members, and their economic and social problems made it doubtful they would ever behave like the older ASEAN members.”
Lee, Singapore’s long-serving former prime minister, went on to say that he was most optimistic about the Vietnamese, describing them as “bright, fast learners” who would contribute to ASEAN’s development. He also said Hanoi did not wish to see China’s influence in the region become too great.
In comparison, he said, Cambodia had “not recovered yet from its difficult history and the political system is too personalised around Prime Minister Hun Sen”.
Lee also dismissed Laos as an “outpost” for China, saying Vientiane reported back to Beijing on the content of all ASEAN meetings.
The ASEAN bloc was founded in 1967 as a bulwark against the expansion of communism in Southeast Asia, with Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand as members.
Vietnam joined in 1995, with Laos and Myanmar following suit in 1997. Cambodia was the last to join, in April 1999, after the July 1997 factional fighting led to a delay in its full membership.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said yesterday that he did not wish to comment on the cable’s contents.
“We have to read it carefully and try to understand it deeply. Right now, I do not want to make any comment,” he said.
A regional observer based in Singapore said Lee’s views on Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar reflected widespread fears that a “two-track” ASEAN had developed since the 1990s....read the full story in tomorrow’s Phnom Penh Post or see the updated story online from 3PM UTC/GMT +7 hours.
Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew said Cambodia should not have been accepted into ASEAN due to its lack of shared values with the bloc’s founding members, according to a secret diplomatic cable released yesterday by the website WikiLeaks.
The cable, marked “confidential” and sent by the United States embassy in Singapore, documents a 2007 meeting between Lee and top American officials. At the meeting, Lee reportedly said ASEAN should not have admitted Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam as members in the 1990s.
“The older members of ASEAN shared common values and an antipathy to communism,” the cable states, describing Lee’s views.
“Those values had been ‘muddied’ by the new members, and their economic and social problems made it doubtful they would ever behave like the older ASEAN members.”
Lee, Singapore’s long-serving former prime minister, went on to say that he was most optimistic about the Vietnamese, describing them as “bright, fast learners” who would contribute to ASEAN’s development. He also said Hanoi did not wish to see China’s influence in the region become too great.
In comparison, he said, Cambodia had “not recovered yet from its difficult history and the political system is too personalised around Prime Minister Hun Sen”.
Lee also dismissed Laos as an “outpost” for China, saying Vientiane reported back to Beijing on the content of all ASEAN meetings.
The ASEAN bloc was founded in 1967 as a bulwark against the expansion of communism in Southeast Asia, with Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand as members.
Vietnam joined in 1995, with Laos and Myanmar following suit in 1997. Cambodia was the last to join, in April 1999, after the July 1997 factional fighting led to a delay in its full membership.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said yesterday that he did not wish to comment on the cable’s contents.
“We have to read it carefully and try to understand it deeply. Right now, I do not want to make any comment,” he said.
A regional observer based in Singapore said Lee’s views on Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar reflected widespread fears that a “two-track” ASEAN had developed since the 1990s....read the full story in tomorrow’s Phnom Penh Post or see the updated story online from 3PM UTC/GMT +7 hours.
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