On November 16, a number of U.S. lawmakers, including Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, wrote to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, urging him to “address the alarming deterioration in human rights protection and democratic rule in Cambodia” by imposing sanctions on senior government and security officials.
This was only the most recent congressional request for action. The Gardner-Markey Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 imposed human rights and democracy-related conditions on U.S. assistance to Cambodia. The Cambodia Democracy Act of 2019 sought to freeze assets of and restrict visas for Hun Sen’s senior officials. During the Trump administration, these requests have found purchase, with the White House condemning Hun Sen’s crackdowns and curtailing some aid programs.
Jonina O. Fernando, Master’s student in Public Management at the Ateneo School of Government in the Philippines, explains that: “Despite its maritime dispute with China… the Philippines signed on as the last founding member of the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.”
Denise Layla P. Miram, Master’s student in Public Management at the Ateneo School of Government in the Philippines, explains that: “While the government maintains that it is pursuing an independent foreign policy, many experts have criticized the administration’s supposed strategy for its lack of clarity and position.”