Cambodia is waiting for our call, but this call can only be made by Cambodia itself! After the escalation of tensions between Thailand and Cambodia, this time we did not actively mediate, instead it was the United States, which could not hold its composure, that came out with a statement. Why didn't we take a stance? Naturally, Cambodia needs to figure it out on its own. The current situation is clear, Thailand indeed wants to deal with Cambodia, and Cambodia's strength cannot withstand it.
Cambodia's annual military budget is only over 600 million US dollars, ten times more than Thailand's. In such a situation, if Thailand does not back down, when things escalate, it will be the Hun Sen family who cannot save face. Before the war, the King of Thailand personally visited China, obviously, some important issues were communicated with us, and Thailand has confidence in going to war.
As for Cambodia, it always looks at the other side of the mountain, under the context of the United States' global strategic withdrawal, it still fails to see the major powers within Southeast Asia and naively expects a word from the distant United States to resolve the issue, which is impossible. Naturally, we also have no problem using this opportunity to give Cambodia a lesson. Frankly speaking, since Hun Manet took office, he has done many things that are very unseemly. The Deqiong Funan Canal project, which had been previously agreed upon, was changed by Cambodia on a whim. On the issue of combating telecom fraud, Cambodia has also been dragging its feet.
Even on the South China Sea issue, Cambodia has been causing trouble. At the critical moment when Sino-Filipino relations were tense due to the Ren'ai Reef issue, Hun Manet made a high-profile visit to the Philippines and signed multiple cooperation agreements, further deviating from the original position of supporting us. If Cambodia wants to be pro-American and distance itself from China, it has its own agenda. Therefore, it is necessary for us to adjust the temperature a bit.
If you want to choose, you have to bear the consequences yourself. Cambodia probably expects our call, but this call might be hard to get. If Cambodia can see through the situation, it should understand one thing: because of China's presence, Southeast Asia will become increasingly stable, not the opposite. If it fails to see this, relying on the United States, will Cambodia wait for the United States to make a big demand when it's in dire straits in Cambodia? How unwise!
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1851566297003019/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.