News

There was a sense of déjà vu at the Peace Palace yesterday as a week of largely closed-door ASEAN meetings kicked off in earnest with the same contentious issue that so dominated April’s ASEAN Summit: a code of conduct for the South China Sea. With China ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday repeated a call for Asean countries to put a stop to the exploitation of migrant workers and urged the acceleration of efforts to provide protection for such workers. At the Asean Summit last month, Mr. Hun Sen said that protecting the ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday hit back at claims that China had influenced Cambodia’s actions as chair of Asean, insisting that the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao last weekend was not related to this week’s Asean Summit. Speaking at the closing of the summit at ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen’s call on Tuesday to strengthen cooperation among ASEAN members to protect the rights of migrant workers echoed recent comments by rights groups who say further protections are necessary as the 2015 deadline for an integrated economic community looms. As that deadline approaches, ...

After a week of global media reports dissecting Cambodia’s relationship with China, Prime Minister Hun Sen had apparently had enough yesterday – lashing out at the media and analysts he termed “crazy” in what proved an unexpected conclusion to the 20th ASEAN Summit. The premier spent ...

The rift between Cambodia and the Philippines over the role of China in addressing the South China Sea issue continued to widen yesterday, with the Philippines’ president telling his counterparts during an Asean Summit meeting that China should be left out of discussions on a ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen pushed regional unity at the opening ceremony of the ASEAN Summit yesterday, but criticism directed at Cambodia over the South China Sea ensured the dispute remained front and centre. As heavily armed guards lined the streets outside the Peace Palace in Phnom ...

Asean leaders urged the lifting of economic sanctions against Burma, while the Burmese president made his first public statement on the nation’s recent by-elections, calling them “very successful” at the Asean Summit in Phnom Penh yesterday. “Asean has consistently spoken of lifting sanctions, but now, more ...

The Philippines thrust the South China Sea dispute to the forefront of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting yesterday, causing the topic to dominate discussions. Myanmar by-elections and North Korea also featured prominently on the eve of today’s ASEAN summit, overshadowing the foreign ministers’ planned focus on ...

A weekend meeting between Chinese President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Hun Sen concluded with millions in loans and aid agreed to and a clear message: neither nation is in a rush to deal with the prickly South China Sea dispute. At the Saturday one on ...

Civil society groups from Thailand will boycott a meeting between NGOs and regional government representatives at this week’s ASEAN summit because their country’s delegate “does not represent Thai civil society”, a spokeswoman said yesterday. Premrudee Daoroung, a representative of Thai civil society groups, said her country’s ...

Phnom Penh City Hall has banned all trucks transporting goods and gasoline from traveling on the city’s roads in daytime hours to ease traffic during the Asean Summit, according to a notice placed on the municipality’s website Saturday. The Ministry of Education has also told 12 ...

Just hours before Chinese President Hu Jintao landed in Phnom Penh on Friday, a group of dismayed Koh Kong province villagers whose land is under threat from a sprawling Chinese tourism project were escorted onto a bus and sent back home before they were able ...

In an effort to stop their homes from being swallowed up by a Chinese mega-tourism project, Koh Kong villagers said they will submit a petition to the Chinese Embassy today, calling for intervention from visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao. Villager representative Tith Ten, 54, from Kiri ...

In addition to security and public order initiatives in the lead-up to next week’s Asean Summit, Phnom Penh authorities said yesterday they would be redoubling their “clean city” efforts. “We’re keeping security and order, and we asked Cintri [waste disposal company] to double the numbers of ...

Chinese Ambassador Pan Guangxue yesterday said that China opposes the contentious issue of the South China Sea being discussed by countries that are not directly involved in the regional maritime dispute. Speaking at a news conference at the Chinese Embassy to discuss Chinese President Hu Jintao’s ...

An NGO director and a youth leader from two little-known organizations were elected by 2,779 NGO and youth association members at a meeting on March 15 to represent civil society at a meeting with Asean leaders next week, according to a statement released by state-run ...

The upcoming visit of Chinese president Hu Jintao to Cambodia next week will build closer ties between the two countries, China and ASEAN as the visit is coincided with the 20th ASEAN Summit, said a senior official Sunday. The visit will also create more confidence among ...

Cambodia, in its role as Asean chair, has decided that the thorny issue of the South China Sea will not be on the agenda at next month’s Asean Summit in Phnom Penh, CPP lawmaker Cheam Yeap announced yesterday. “Cambodia is a neutral country, and based on ...

Chinese President Hu Jintao will pay an official state visit to Cambodia between March 30 and April 2, a trip that will coincide with the Asean-European Union Business Summit and will finish just one day before the annual Asean summit commences in Phnom Penh, an ...

Two weeks before the opening of the 20th Asean Summit in Phnom Penh, preparations are under way to increase security and clean up Cambodia’s capital ahead of the arrival of hordes of foreign dignitaries on April 3. According to Phnom Penh deputy military police chief Pong ...

The government has chosen representatives of two obscure NGOs to send to an annual meeting between civil society groups and regional leaders during next month’s Asean summit in Phnom Penh, sparking an outcry among other non-governmental groups that say this will prevent critics from being ...

Cambodian NGOs were drawing battle lines and choosing sides in the run-up to the ASEAN summit, activists said yesterday. Two separate “ASEAN People’s Forums” are being organised by local NGOs. The first, from March 28 to 30, is expected to draw more than 2,000 groups. ...   ...

The government of China on Monday delivered office supplies and equipment worth $403,000 to Cambodia in order to ease the country's burden when it hosts the ASEAN summit and related Summits this year. The office supplies and equipment included 200 sets of desktops, 60 sets of ...