On April 16, 2022, US Press Secretary Jen Psaki issued a statement, saying that President Joe Biden will host the leaders of ASEAN in Washington, DC, on May 12 and 13 for a US-ASEAN Special Summit.

Cambodia, in coordination with Indonesia – the current country coordinator for ASEAN-US relations – issued a press statement echoing the US’: “As the chair of ASEAN, Cambodia wishes to announce that ASEAN and the US are set to convene a Special Summit to celebrate four and a half decades of the ASEAN-US Dialogue Relations on May 12-13, 2022, in Washington, DC.

One must be wondering why the two statements were issued at the same time, and indeed expressed the same purpose? Are ASEAN-US relations rejuvenated under Cambodia’s ASEAN chairmanship?

Of course, it is understood that these statements attest to the good working relationship between ASEAN chair Cambodia with other ASEAN member states and the US government, thus clearing the doubt hovering over the past recent months about a lack of coordination between ASEAN and the US, and that the Special Summit was not likely to happen, but now it does. This will be the second Special Summit on the US soil in six years since the 2016 ASEAN-US Leaders’ Summit in Sunnylands in the US state of California and will be the first ASEAN-US leaders’ in-person meeting since the Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the world.

This illustrates that one of Cambodia’s significant strategic importance – the reenergisation and expansion of ASEAN external partnerships – works well for the sake of ASEAN and the peoples of ASEAN. To a higher degree, the aim of this strategic importance is to revitalise and expand partnership with external partners, especially potential partners like the US.

To this end, under the theme “ASEAN ACT: Addressing Challenges Together”, Cambodia is fully committed to reinvigorating the relations and cooperation with the US after its repeated absences from ASEAN Plus One Summit with the US under former President Donald Trump’s Administration that caused displeasure among ASEAN member states.

An exemplification is the briefing for diplomatic corps on Cambodia’s priorities for ASEAN chairmanship year on December 29 2021, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation by deputy prime minister and foreign minister Prak Sokhonn, who articulated: “Cambodia sees merit in reenergising and expanding partnerships with external partners, in order to maintain regional peace, stability and enhance the ASEAN Community-building efforts. We would like to see relations between ASEAN and external partners continue to grow on the basis of mutual respect and mutual interest.”

For this very reason, Cambodia as well as ASEAN has endeavoured to set a milestone for elevation of the ASEAN-US relations to new heights by expanding ASEAN-US cooperation in all areas in 45 years for socio-economic growth and prosperity in the region.

As a matter of fact, the US has put forward to ASEAN its Concept Paper requesting the upgrade of its strategic partnership with ASEAN to comprehensive strategic partnership – the highest level of partnership – even though ASEAN does not set nomenclature for such a level.

As a result, ASEAN can be seen to possibly agree, in principle, with the US to establish such comprehensive partnership, pending only ASEAN procedural processes to be completed.

ASEAN and the US established formal engagement as dialogue partner in 1977 and became a strategic partnership in 2015. ASEAN and the US are currently seen to determine to achieve this very milestone for a new era in ASEAN-US relations – that is, the establishment of ASEAN-US comprehensive strategic partnership under Cambodia’s ASEAN chairmanship.

For its part, Cambodia fully supports the elevation of the ASEAN-US relations to the comprehensive strategic partnership as Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen explicitly stated in his most recent response to US President Joe Biden’s invitation: “I believe that the reaffirmation of your commitment to further strengthen the relations between the US and ASEAN, as we commemorate the 45th Anniversary of ASEAN-US Dialogue Relations, will be a stepping stone toward elevating our partnerships to new heights. In this connection, Cambodia is strongly supportive of elevating the ASEAN-US relations to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.”

This reflects the gesture of goodwill of Cambodia as the ASEAN chair to rejuvenate the ASEAN-US relations for a stronger partnership.

It is seen that the pivotal role Cambodia has played since the commencement of the ASEAN chairmanship this year amid increasing unprecedented challenges we face bear fruitful, meaningful tangible results for the region.

An exemplification is the convening of this milestone Special Summit preceded by the 4th ATF 2022 along with side-meetings of ATM, among others, in Sihanoukville in January; AMMR in Phnom Penh in February; 40th ASEANAPOL Conference; the meaningful first working visit by foreign minister Prak Sokhonn to Myanmar as the ASEAN special envoy on Myanmar in March following Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ice-breaking visit to the country in January; and the recent ASEAN JCM and ASEAN SOM; ASEAN-New Zealand Dialogue; ASEAN-Australia Forum; and several other cross sectoral technical working level meetings – to name but a few, where regional pressing issues were discussed.

Cambodia’s leadership in navigating ASEAN-US relations for the region is acknowledged. In her 163-word statement, the US Press Secretary said: “The Special Summit will demonstrate the United States’ enduring commitment to ASEAN, recognizing its central role in delivering sustainable solutions to the region’s most pressing challenges.”

This can be a true recognition by the US of what ASEAN has achieved under Cambodia’s ASEAN chairmanship.

As per ASEAN-established practice, Prime Minister Hun Sen as the leadder of Cambodia will co-chair the forthcoming Special Summit with President Joe Biden. This will be a good opportunity for Cambodia to steer ASEAN to forge closer cooperation with the US as stated by the Kingdom: “ASEAN leaders and President Joe Biden will hold discussion on how to intensify cooperation on Covid-19 response and global health security, climate change, sustainable development, maritime cooperation, human capital development, education and people-to-people ties, as well as connectivity and economic engagement.”

In parallel, Biden, in his heartfelt invitation to Prime Minister Hun Sen, stated: “At the Summit, we will commemorate 45th years of enduring partnership and raise our collective ambition for a new age of US-ASEAN relations.”

However, ASEAN is keen to see how and to what extent the US can translate these words into more concrete action. More or less, it remains to be seen. Thus, the US should work closely with ASEAN and respective ASEAN member states wholeheartedly, not to over-securitise and over-politicise the region, but to bring about mutually beneficial meaningful and substantive socio-economic cooperation for the prosperity of the one billion combined peoples of the two regions.

Notably, Cambodia should be given credit for its critical and indispensable role as the ASEAN chair in revitalising and expanding ASEAN external partnership such as, among others, the partnership with the US to realise ASEAN Community-building. Making ASEAN become more relevant, resilient, cohesive, and credible, while upholding and strengthening ASEAN centrality in the evolving regional architecture is one of Cambodia’s grand goals and priorities.

Chun Sovannarith is former representative of the Tokyo News in Cambodia.The views expressed in the article are solely his own.