Balancing an emerging power’s influence: Cambodia’s foreign policy choices within asean under chinese economic leverage

Abstract

The essay aims to explore Cambodia's behaviour and decisions in the international arena, which emerged from its close economic cooperation with China. This paper uses the ASEAN ministerial meeting in 2012, the Ream Naval Base dispute, and the Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure project as case studies. In this way, we obtained detailed information about the specific mechanisms of influence of the above-mentioned events on Cambodia's further decisions in foreign policy. This paper reveals that the long-term multidimensional cooperation between China and Cambodia has had a direct impact on Cambodia's diplomatic activities within ASEAN, ensuring the protection of China's geopolitical interests at the cost of destabilising a crucial regional bloc. It follows that in order to preserve the unity of ASEAN and take the maximum strategic benefit from partners, Cambodia needs to apply a balance mechanism between cooperation with China and the Southeast Alliance.