Bangkok Post – Kambodscha ‚mit uns zu uns‘, “

SS: In their *Bangkok Post* special report, Mongkol Bangprapa and Aekarach Sattaburuth portray Cambodia’s sudden embrace of the United States as a calculated act of geopolitical theatre aimed at internationalising its border spat with Thailand while preserving its lucrative ties with China. 

Experts quoted, such as Dulyapak Preecharush, interpret the docking of a US warship in Sihanoukville, China’s investment stronghold, as a deliberate provocation masked as diplomatic outreach. Hun Sen, long adept at transactional loyalty, appears to be leveraging discontent over stalled Chinese projects like the Funan Techo Canal to extract attention and concessions from Washington. 

Wanwichit Boonprong calls this a high-stakes gamble: Cambodia seeks favour with a superpower known for turning tides to its own advantage, especially since Beijing has clipped the wings of Cambodia’s underground economy. Virot Ali remains sceptical of real gains, arguing that Thailand retains greater international credibility, while Panitan Wattanayagorn warns that Cambodia’s overtures could tilt US attentions unless Bangkok reasserts its strategic relevance. 

My thoughts/non-thoughts: However, this is not just Cambodia’s theatre, it is America’s too. Washington is recalibrating its posture in a region where Thailand has demonstrated a propensity to lean towards China, while being hemmed in on all fronts: to the west, an increasingly hostile Cambodia; to the east, a civil war in Myanmar; to the north, [encroachments](https://thediplomat.com/2024/12/grasping-thailands-northern-border-conundrum/) by the Wa State militia (a Chinese proxy in Myanmar’s Shan state); and to the south, a dormant insurgency poised to reawaken should economic stagnation persist.