As of November 6, 354 local journalists had registered along with 910 foreign journalists from 32 countries, plus state media journalists, raising the total number of reporters to nearly 2,000. SUPPLIED
Ministry of Information spokesman Phos Sovann said on November 7 that nearly 2,000 local and international journalists are set to cover the ASEAN Summits and related meetings which will run from November 8-13.
He added that as of 6 November, 354 local journalists had registered along with 910 foreign journalists from 32 countries, plus state media journalists, raising the total number of reporters to nearly 2,000.
“A total of 1,690 journalists have registered as well as most of the state press officers such as AKP and other radio and television. We also see that the mainstream media outlets with global reach such as CNN, AL Jazeera, FOX News and so forth are here,” he stated.
Prak Chan Thul, a former Reuters correspondent in Cambodia and currently the editor-in-chief of KiriPost, said that he was ready to cover the ASEAN Summit and it should be an interesting one as leaders of major countries gather in Phnom Penh amid major global crises such as inflation, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Myanmar crisis.
“These issues will all be raised at the summit and the multiple crises have brought the attention of journalists, as well as some ongoing issues such as the South China Sea. We are waiting to see statements made by US President Joe Biden, Cambodian Prime Minister
Hun Sen and ASEAN as a whole,” he said.
Chuob Reaksa, a journalist with Radio France International (RFI) in Cambodia, said that he had been keeping busy by studying all of the big ASEAN issues currently, which required him to gather and read legal documents on ASEAN’s processes as well as check into past coverage of the topics so that he’d be able to report on it all accurately and thoroughly.
He added that the Myanmar crisis was a prolonged problem ongoing since Brunei had hosted the ASEAN Summit and he felt that Cambodia had strived to address the issues and de-escalate the situation there but so far little progress has been made on it, which will leave Myanmar’s seat at the summit empty this year.
The Club of Cambodian Journalists held a gathering on November 4 with journalists covering the big event.
Pen Bona, president of the Club of Cambodian Journalists, said at the gathering that though certain issues are heated and bring the attention of international journalists, local journalists should be most interested in covering the successes of the major meetings first and foremost.
Puy Kea, a correspondent for Kyodo News, also said that local journalists need to find storylines and information that Cambodia will benefit from that will be generated by the summit and then they need to turn their focus to the smaller meetings, which local journalists may find they have better access to information about than international reporters, in addition to focusing on regional and global heated issues.
Cambodia joined ASEAN in April 1999 and hosted two ASEAN summits in 2002 and 2012, when it held the rotating chairmanship for its first two turns. For 2022’s chairmanship year, Cambodia is hosting its third summit with the theme “ASEAN ACT: Addressing Challenges Together” before handing over the chair to Indonesia for 2023.
