At a regional forum in May, Cambodia’s Hun Sen was asked pointedly about his reliance on China in tackling the pandemic and gave a pointed answer.
“If I don’t ask China, who am I to ask for help? The people floating across the river?” he replied.
Four months later, after encountering a surge of cases that led hundreds of thousands to be confined to their houses and struggle for food, his unashamed leaning on Beijing has at least provided one upside to the misery wrought by the virus.
