Foreign minister Sok Chenda Sophea (centre) departs Cambodia on August 26 to co-chair the fourth meeting of the Cambodia-Philippines Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) in Manila, the Philippines. Foreign ministry
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sok Chenda Sophea departed Cambodia this morning, bound for the Philippines.
He is set to co-chair the fourth meeting of the Cambodia-Philippines Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) with his Filipino counterpart Enrique Manalo. The event will take place in Manila on August 27-28.
The meeting participants will follow up and review progress in implementing the agreements reached during the third JCBC meeting, held in 2021, and chart a new course of action to further strengthen the long-standing relations between the two countries, according to an August 26 press release from the foreign ministry.
“The two ministers will also touch on regional developments and international issues of common interest and concern,” it added.
During his visit, Chenda Sophea will also meet with President of the Philippines Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos and attend a luncheon hosted by Vice-President Sara Duterte, according to the release.
Ek Bunly, a researcher at the Cambodian Centre for Regional Studies (CCRS), explained that the JCBC meeting will be centred on the improvement and review of bilateral trade, investment, agriculture and people-to-people relations. He noted that there is no doubt that both countries’ relations are on the rise since the resumption of diplomatic relations in the 1990s.
Bunly believed that the meeting between Chenda Sophea and Marcos would also touch on sensitive security topics, especially related to the lingering South China Sea issue. This may include the rise in clashes between China and the Philippines, and how Cambodia and the Philippines can, this time, align their stance on the South China Sea.
“It is in the Cambodian foreign minister's best interest to use this opportunity to address Western misconceptions about Phnom Penh's stance, which has often been mistakenly perceived as pro-China regarding the South China Sea.
“Neutrality should not be equated with taking sides, and choosing a position that does not align with major powers should not be seen as opposition,” he told The Post on August 26.
Bunly explained that Chenda Sophea and Marcos could achieve significant future bilateral and regional benefits by exchanging views on how to strengthen ASEAN multilateralism, particularly by discussing ways to prevent any major power from “hijacking ASEAN to establish a 'hub and spoke' system in Southeast Asia”.
“However, it is unrealistic to expect that a single meeting between the foreign minister and the president of the Philippines will have a substantial impact on bilateral and regional relations,” he added.
