Prime Minister Hun Manet (right) shakes hands with Russian ambassador to Cambodia Anatoly Borovik during their meeting on October 26 last year. STPM
It has been almost two years since Cambodia voted in favour of a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and urging an immediate end to the aggression.
For over a year, former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen had stated his opposition to Russia’s referendum on annexing Ukraine.
However, Cambodian analysts have noted that during this period, despite these events, the Russia-Cambodia relationship does not appear to have changed significantly; rather, both sides are committed and willing to enhance their relations.
Kin Phea, director of the International Relations Institute at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said that even after Cambodia voted in favour of the resolution, the relationship between the two countries did not seem to have changed, even though Cambodian diplomats and Hun Sen had clearly voiced their support for the resolution.
He added that Cambodia opposed the use of military force by any country against another sovereign state. This is one of the core principles of Cambodia’s foreign policy, which seeks to ensure that all UN member states adhere to the principles of the UN Charter and international law, while refraining from the use of force to occupy or annex any of the territory of a sovereign state.
“I can clearly see – and Russia understands, especially through its diplomats in Phnom Penh – the realism of Cambodian foreign policy. We do not support the use of force. Cambodia has always adhered to the principles of morality and peace in its foreign policy,” he said.
“Therefore, in my opinion, there hasn’t been any significant change from the past. We have seen a commitment by the diplomatic leadership of both two countries to promote the relationship between the two nations. In the next few years, Cambodia and Russia will celebrate the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic ties,” he continued.
According to Phea, as part of the Kingdom’s foreign policy framework, the seventh-mandate government led by Prime Minister Hun Manet has been actively seeking to diversify diplomacy. It has also prioritised economic diplomacy related to trade, investment, development assistance and market expansion, as well as expanding foreign direct investment with many other countries.
UN vote based on foreign policy
Of the 193 UN member states, 181 voted, with Cambodia among 141 countries that voted in favour of the UNGA resolution in March 2022.
Then-Prime Minister Hun Sen explained that Cambodia could not ignore Russia’s large-scale military offensive in Ukraine. He called for a ceasefire and urged them to come to the negotiating table to bring an end to the war.
Russian ambassador to Cambodia Anatoly Borovik told a December 26, 2023 press conference in Phnom Penh that Cambodia is an independent and democratic country which can carry out its foreign policy as it sees fit, adding that Russia has never interfered in the internal affairs of any sovereign state.
However, he acknowledged that Russia had sought to clarify to the Cambodian side the “attempts by Western countries behind the coup that took place in Ukraine in 2014”.
Historic Russian support
The envoy said Russia and Cambodia have a long history of friendship and close cooperation, and have never had any misunderstandings, conflicts or problems in their relations.
Russia, he recalled, was among a few that had assisted Cambodia in rebuilding the country after the fall of the Khmer Rouge era.
“At that time, only Russia and some European socialist countries had helped Cambodia. The country was then isolated because the West would not recognise its new government after the overthrow of the Pol Pot regime, which still represented Cambodia at the UN. At that time, the Pol Pot regime should not have been allowed to represent the Cambodian people because they were terrorists against their own people,” he added.
In October 2022, Hun Sen stated his opposition to a Russian referendum on the annexation of parts of Ukraine, saying: “I have said in the past that we oppose the … annexation and the use or threat of force”.
Thong Mengdavid, a research supervisor at the Asian Vision Institute’s (AVI) Mekong Centre for Strategic Studies, told The Post that Cambodia’s vote for the UN resolution has not seriously affected its relationship with Russia, as their historical relationship is strong.
He suggested that the war in Ukraine was Russia’s problem, so Cambodia had no right to interfere in Russia’s internal issues. At the time, the Russian embassy in Phnom Penh held a press conference to reiterate the purpose and the true situation of the war, and Russia thanked Cambodia for expressing its concern about the problem.
Mengdavid believes that the vote was based on the spirit of peace and respect for international law. It was not meant to punish Russia, but was a reminder for the Kremlin to respect the UN principles of peace and resolve its issues peacefully. The prolonged war has caused destruction to human life, economic crises and affected global food security and energy.
“Bringing an end to the war in Ukraine is an important priority for the UN, but the interference of superpowers and continued military aid to Ukraine will not soften Russia or de-escalate the conflict,” he said.
“In 2024, the war might spread more widely. Russia has refined its tactics and training, as well as its weaponry and equipment, so it can ramp up its attacks. The delivery of aid by Western countries and the US is still vague and uncertain,” he added.
‘No obvious problems’
Ro Vannak, co-founder of the Cambodian Institute for Democracy (CID), noted that there have been no obvious problems with the diplomatic relations between Russia and the Kingdom, but that they have not grown appreciably closer, as China-Cambodia relations have.
He suggested that Russia sees Cambodia as a small country with no diplomatic, economic or political weight, and does not believe it poses a significant threat to Russian interests.
“Cambodia chose pragmatic diplomacy by supporting the UNGA resolution condemning the Russian aggression against Ukraine. This support bolstered the interests of Cambodia, as well as the ruling Cambodian People’s Party [CPP], which were once criticised for significant setbacks in democracy and respect for human rights,” he added.
‘Rights for all’
A statement from the government’s Cambodian Human Rights Committee (CHRC) noted that democratic space and freedom in Cambodia are always open, while a 2022 statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and international Cooperation confirmed that Cambodia is committed to continuing to work with all partners to promote and safeguard human rights for all, according to the rule of law, while moving forward with democracy.
In the 33 years between 1990 and May 2023, Russia and Cambodia entered into over 40 agreements on economics, politics and security, including in law enforcement, education and culture, relations between business structures and scientific organisations.
“We have implemented each of the agreements that have been reached. We have also set ourselves the goal of putting in more efforts to foster cooperation. Russia has shown strong interest in guaranteeing the effective implementation of the signed documents,” Borovik said last May.
“The Covid-19 pandemic caused some difficulties, suspending our traditional relations for temporary ones. However, we still created new agreements that will help maximise the potential of Russia-Cambodia relations,” he added.
