Cambodia, Philippines should stop throwing mud at each other

By Nguon Serath

PHNOM PENH, 3 August 2012 (Cambodia Herald) - Even after ASEAN issued a six-point joint statement on the South China Sea two weeks ago, the war of words between Cambodia and Philippines has intensified, raising concerns over the East Asia summit scheduled for November.

Both sides are using the media to defend their positions at the annual meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers in Phnom Penh last month, which ended without a joint statement for the first time in 45 years.

The war of words between the two countries flared up with an article by Erlinda Basilio, undersecretary of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs. She defended the Philippine position at the annual meeting, which was to insist mentioning its territorial dispute with China.

Cambodia has launched a regional diplomatic response with ambassadors in Thailand, Philippines and even Japan writing letters to newspapers to defend its position as ASEAN chair.

Foreign Minister Hor Namhong says Cambodia has "tried to prevent the dispute from further flaring up and to avoid adding fuel to the fire. Cambodia's intention is to leave the door open for future talks by the countries concerned."

In addition to the Philippines, fellow ASEAN members Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam also have territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.

Amid media claims that Cambodia's loyalty has been "bought" by China, Cambodia has argued that the same could be said of other any state in line with a more powerful nation.

The war of words intensified this week when Hos Sereythonh, the Cambodian ambassador to Philippines, wrote an article suggesting that the Philippines was playing "dirty politics" at the annual meeting of foreign ministers.

While the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs has summoned him for an explanation, the ambassador has said he is "indisposed" for the time being.

Instead of pointing fingers and throwing mud at each other, the two countries should go to the negotiating table. They need to clear up any misunderstandings and make necessary compromises to serve the interests of ASEAN as a whole.

ASEAN has three months to solve the clash of ideas caused by the South China Sea dispute before the summit in November. The foreign ministers meet in New York next month. That should be an opportunity make every effort to prevent what happened at last month's meeting from repeating itself at the November summit. All ASEAN members need to make contributions to avoid confrontations within the group.