Cambodia’s ambassador to Manila who publicly criticized the
Aquino administration for its stance on the territorial disputes with
China has been recalled, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Friday.
The DFA said the Cambodian Foreign Ministry recalled Ambassador Hos
Sereythonh after the Philippine government filed a diplomatic protest
over his scathing remarks against the government that appeared in a
national broadsheet two weeks ago.
Foreign
Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said the Cambodian Foreign Ministry
separately sent two notes verbale or diplomatic notes to the Philippine
Embassy in Phnom Penh last Friday and the DFA in Manila early this
week, indicating that Hos will be replaced by a new envoy.
The ministry did not elaborate on its reason for cutting short his tour of duty, Hernandez said. Hos reportedly has another year left of his three-year posting in Manila.
“It is the prerogative of a sending state to reassign or recall its ambassador. Cambodia is an ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member and a friend. We hope he Cambodian ambassador will help reinforce the friendship that exists between our two countries,” Hernandez told a press briefing.
Diplomatic sources told GMA News Online a senior female career ambassador is replacing Hos.
The rift started when the ASEAN failed to come up with a joint statement in Phnom Penh last month as Cambodia, a known Chinese ally, insistently blocked moves to mention the Panatag Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) standoff between the Philippines and China in the proposed communiqué.
Vietnam also wanted to include in the joint statement China's incursions into its waters.
After the Phnom Penh meetings, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Erlinda Basilio issued a public statement explaining that the ASEAN failed to come up with a communiqué due to Cambodia’s firm position not to reflect the recent developments in the West Philippine Sea despite the view of the majority of the bloc’s members that these developments impinge on the overall security of the region.
In response, the Cambodian ambassador sent a letter to the Philippine
Star accusing the Philippines and Vietnam of “sabotaging” the group
statement because of their insistence on inserting the sea disputes in
the propose document.
The Philippines and Vietnam, the two claimants with the most number of confrontations with China, have accused Beijing of becoming increasingly aggressive in asserting its claims in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
The vast waters a strategic and resource-rich waterway where more than
50 percent of the world's merchant fleet tonnage passes each year – had
been a source of conflict among rival claimants China, Taiwan and ASEAN
members Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei.
Other countries that make up the ASEAN are Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.
Other countries that make up the ASEAN are Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.
Overlapping claims to the contested waters, islands and reefs, where undersea gas deposits have been discovered in several areas, has been feared to be Asia's next potential flashpoint for war. — RSJ, GMA News
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