VZCZCXRO8921
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHFK RUEHHM RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHNH RUEHPB RUEHTRO
DE RUEHPF #0142/01 0630958
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 040958Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0464
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 3269
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0683
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 2673
INFO RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHZU/ASIAN PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2369

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PHNOM PENH 000142 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, P, D, IO 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO USAID 
BANGKOK PLEASE PASS TO USAID/RDMA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PBTS MARR TH CB
SUBJECT: HOR NAMHONG WELCOMES GROWING U.S. COOPERATION IN ASEAN 
 
REF: 08 PHNOM PENH 701 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY.  Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister (FM) 
Hor Namhong focused on ASEAN, the Khmer Rouge Tribunal (KRT) and 
U.S. support for the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) joining 
regional and larger international institutions during EAP Deputy 
Assistant Secretary (DAS) and U.S. Ambassador for ASEAN Affairs Scot 
Marciel's March 2 courtesy call in advance of the second annual 
U.S.-Cambodia bilateral dialogue.  Hor Namhong welcomed Secretary 
Clinton's visit to the ASEAN Secretariat and requested that she 
consider a trip to Phnom Penh after she attends the ASEAN Post 
Ministerial Meeting in July.  The FM dismissed public criticism of 
the RGC over the barring of a Cambodian civil society representative 
from talks at the recent ASEAN Summit. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Hor Namhong thanked the U.S. for its bilateral assistance 
and asked the USG to provide more financial support to the KRT.  He 
also asked the USG to support Cambodia's bid for a non-permanent 
seat at the UN Security Council (UNSC) and request to join APEC, and 
he briefly discussed ongoing land and maritime border negotiations 
with Thailand.  The FM's strong focus on regional issues and the 
RGC's desire to join the UNSC and APEC are positive indications that 
Cambodia wishes to step up its international engagement.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
INCREASING U.S. ENGAGEMENT WITH ASEAN 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Hor Namhong said that ASEAN Secretary General Surin 
Pitsuwan sent a positive report of his meeting with Secretary 
Clinton, and that the ASEAN Foreign Ministers viewed her visit to 
the Secretariat in Jakarta as a sign that U.S. cooperation with 
ASEAN would continue to grow.  Ambassador Marciel reiterated that 
the U.S. would work hard to improve relations with ASEAN and that 
the U.S. would begin the process of pursuing accession to the ASEAN 
Treaty of Amity and Cooperation.  He confirmed that Secretary 
Clinton would attend the ASEAN Post Ministerial Meeting in Thailand 
in July, and Hor Namhong requested that she consider a trip to Phnom 
Penh while she is in the region. 
 
CAMBODIA AND THE ASEAN SUMMIT 
----------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Hor Namhong stated that last weekend's ASEAN Summit had 
been productive and stressed the importance of the ratified ASEAN 
Charter.  When asked about the barring of a Cambodian civil society 
representative from the talks, Hor Namhong repeated his public 
statements that the Summit organizers excluded the purported 
Cambodian representative after the RGC delegation noted that the 
representative did not appear in the ASEAN Charter's list of 
registered NGOs.  He said that the RGC wanted to play a role in the 
selection of Cambodian civil society interlocutors.  (NOTE: The 
Cambodian representative and his NGO are not known to anyone at this 
Embassy, and his selection is a bit of a mystery. END NOTE.) 
Ambassador Marciel remarked that Cambodia being raised in the same 
context as Burma was not good for its image. 
 
BILATERAL ASSISTANCE AND THE KHMER ROUGE TRIBUNAL 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Hor Namhong expressed his gratitude for U.S. assistance in 
basic education and health, and for the recent donation of 40 trucks 
to the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces.  He highlighted the 
much-appreciated work of the Peace Corps.  He also asked Ambassador 
Marciel how the U.S. could contribute more financial support to the 
Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), often 
called the Khmer Rouge Tribunal (KRT), noting that Japan had pledged 
$20-$21 million towards the UN side of the tribunal and that the 
Cambodian side of the court would soon run out of money.  Ambassador 
Marciel said that the U.S. hoped to contribute more funding but 
cautioned that the U.S. government budget process moved slowly.  Hor 
Namhong also noted that although there had been media speculation 
about corruption in the KRT, there had been four to seven 
independent audits of the tribunal that had found no cases of 
corruption.  He added that the RGC was working with the UN to 
develop mechanisms to promote greater transparency in the KRT. 
 
CAMBODIA IN APEC AND AT THE UNSC 
-------------------------------- 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000142  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Hor Namhong repeated past requests (Reftel) for the U.S. to 
support Cambodia's bid to join the UN Security Council (UNSC) in 
¶2013. (NOTE: Elections will be held in 2012, and the Republic of 
Korea is reportedly also running. END NOTE.)  He said that all ASEAN 
members, plus 61 other countries, had confirmed their support for 
the Cambodians' bid.  He also asked that the U.S. push to lift the 
moratorium on new members joining APEC and support Cambodia's 
accession to the group.  He stressed that more involvement in 
regional and international institutions would advance Cambodia's 
development.  Ambassador Marciel promised to take the RGC's requests 
back to Washington for consideration. 
 
PREAH VIHEAR BORDER DISPUTE; OVERLAPPING CLAIMS AREA 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) When discussing border issues, the Foreign Minister said 
that the Thais had agreed to refer to a 2000 MOU regarding 
demarcation of the entire land border, including the disputed border 
area around the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Preah Vihear.  He said 
that the RGC would push to use a map of the border made by the 
French during the protectorate era in 1904-1908.  He also said that 
the RGC and Thai government had agreed to bring in technical experts 
to help map the maritime border, including an overlapping claims 
area proposed to be developed jointly, and determine how the two 
countries could share revenues from potential oil and gas resources. 
 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Hor Namhong's strong focus on regional issues and the RGC's 
aspiration to join APEC and the UNSC signal that Cambodia is eager 
to play a more active role on the international stage.  Increased 
engagement at the regional and global levels would, as the FM 
pointed out, further Cambodia's development agenda.  A greater 
international focus on Cambodia could also persuade the RGC to 
accelerate reforms in areas important to the U.S., such as rule of 
law and good governance, trade facilitation and economic growth, and 
security cooperation.  However, as illustrated recently by the spat 
over the participation of civil society at the ASEAN Summit, the RGC 
still has a lot to learn to improve its international image and 
become more fully integrated in the international community. 
 
 
RODLEY