PHNOM PENH — On the thorny issue of Southeast Asia’s territorial disputes in the South China Sea, Cambodia finds itself caught in the middle.

On one side, its fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) say the regional bloc should be central to dealing with the disputes. On the other, China—the world’s most populous nation and second biggest economy, and the largest source of investment and aid for Cambodia—wants to deal with each counter-claimant bilaterally, without regional or international mediation.

In February, Prime Minister Hun Sen traveled to the United States—his first official visit to the country during more than 30 years in power—to attend the so-called Sunnylands Summit, an unprecedented meeting of Southeast Asian and American leaders seen as an attempt by the U.S. to counter China’s increasingly assertive moves in the region.

Hun Sen at the meeting supported a joint declaration that includes clear references to the maritime disputes, and espouses the concept of “ASEAN Centrality.”

http://www.voacambodia.com/a/cambodia-stuck-in-the-middle-over-south-china-sea/3337331.html