U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is glad-handing in Phnom Penh this week, in what can only be seen as a desperate bid by Washington to draw Cambodia out of Beijing’s orbit. Such a move is aligned with the much-touted “window of opportunity” U.S. policymakers perceive with the dynastic succession of Prime Minister Hun Manet last year. Yet, a deeper look suggests that this bid (and the broader agenda behind it) was misguided from the outset.
The Hun Manet honeymoon has been an unmitigated disaster for U.S. foreign policy objectives. Symbolically, it is particularly poignant that Austin’s visit coincides with the christening of Xi Jinping Boulevard in Phnom Penh and the embarrassing departure of U.S. Ambassador Patrick Murphy. For weeks, media aligned with the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) have been effusive in their praise of Murphy’s sycophancy, while simultaneously slamming the U.S. government writ large. Throughout his tenure, Murphy proved a willing advocate for the regime, focusing primarily on public diplomacy gimmicks while failing, for years, to highlight the severity of Cambodia’s exploding scam industry or to raise more than perfunctory concerns about the regime’s myriad other abuses. The recognition he is now receiving duly indicates how well he served CPP interests, if not Washington’s.
