Has Cambodia turned against China? Embassy hits back!

The Chinese Embassy in Cambodia has updated its WeChat posts regarding "Rumors and Truth on China-Cambodia Relations" on February 20, refuting a newly-emerged rumor on social media.

The rumor on Weibo

A Weibo blogger on February 16 posted an article titled “Cambodia has completely turned against China”, citing the Cambodian prime minister Hun Manet’s recent visit to the Philippines as evidence.

The embassy said that premier Hun Manet visited the Philippines from February 10 to 11, but he did not mention China at the joint press conference with Philippine president Marcos. There is nothing to do with China in the Cambodian Foreign Ministry’s readout on the results of this visit.

Since taking office in August 2023, Hun Manet has visited 15 countries for international events and state visits. China is the first country visited by him, and the only country that Hun Manet has been to three times, the embassy noted.

The Cambodian prime minister has visited seven ASEAN countries so far, and the Philippines is the latest one. The Weibo article’s interpretation on Cambodian foreign policy is purely subjective and has no factual basis, the embassy observed.

 

The apology on Weibo

On February 20 evening, the blogger apologized for his views on premier Hun Manet visit to the Philippines. “China-Cambodia friendship must stand the test. At that time, I was a little excited and mistakenly analyzed the nature of this matter. It's a bit far-fetched, and I apologize for this,” said the post.

Sources: Chinese Embassy in Cambodia and Weibo; Trans-editing by Wang Shixue