History, Hun Sen, and Ukraine

Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

“Since Russia invaded Ukraine, setting off a wave of Western-led sanctions, leaders in Washington and Brussels have struggled to secure support from Asian partners. Japan has emerged as the most stalwart partner in this effort, with Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan also demonstrating resolve. But India, citing long-standing ties with Russia, has refused to join in, instead maintaining its close ties with Moscow. And Vietnam, one of the United States’ most important partners in Southeast Asia, has refused too, going as far as to abstain from UN votes critical of Russia. Most other countries in the region have remained neutral.

One might expect Cambodia to follow Vietnam’s lead or at least remain neutral because of Phnom Penh’s own historical ties to Moscow, and Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen’s aversion to criticizing other countries’ human rights records—as this might allow others to criticize his government, too. But Hun Sen is full of surprises.”

NYSEAN member Charles Dunst writes this commentary for the Center for Strategic & International Relations

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