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Aung San Suu Kyi
AsiaDiplomacy

China’s relationship with Asean under scrutiny as Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi makes first visit to Cambodia

  • The state counsellor’s trip underlines the similarities between two nations isolated from the international community over human rights abuses
  • Naypyidaw and Phnom Penh are also seen as loyal to Beijing, a position that has hampered the Southeast Asian bloc’s effectiveness

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Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi arrives at Phnom Penh International Airport in Cambodia on April 29. Photo: Reuters
Andrew Nachemson
Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi made her first diplomatic visit to Cambodia this week, underscoring the similarities between two countries that find themselves increasingly isolated from the international community.

According to the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Suu Kyi arrived in Cambodia on April 29, flying from Beijing where she and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen attended the second Belt and Road Forum.

While the statement claimed the visit would strengthen cooperation within Asean – the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – Myanmar and Cambodia have been stumbling blocks to the bloc’s effectiveness, with both seen as being more loyal to China.

Ear Sophal, author of The Hungry Dragon: How China’s Resources Quest is Reshaping the World, said it is “no coincidence” the leaders are holding bilateral talks directly after meeting in Beijing.

“The deeper ties would be in the form of an axis of Beijing-friendly countries at Asean’s table,” Sophal said. “It can only further empower China. Vietnam and other claimant countries to the South China Sea will feel further isolated.”

Suu Kyi is on April 30 expected to lay wreaths at the statue of King Sihanouk, who also served as Cambodia’s prime minister before his death in 2012, and pay her respects to King Norodom Sihamoni and the queen mother at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh.

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