Presented to the Department of Political Science

De La Salle University - Manila

Term 3, AY 2022 - 2023

In partial fulfillment of the requirements in the course

LCASEAN (Section Y17)

Cambodia in the ASEAN

Submitted by:
Dylim, Jazznyl
Garcia, Calista Dominique B.
Tizon, Eula Kathrina
Zerrudo, Isabela

Submitted to:
Fr. Francis Xavier R. Salcedo

June 23, 2023

 I. Introduction

Cambodia, officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, became the tenth (10th) member of

the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on April 30, 1999 (ASEAN, n.d.). The population as

of 2021 was 16.9 million (International Monetary Fund, 2023), with the majority of the

population practicing Buddhism (Overton et al., 2023). The capital of Cambodia is Phnom Penh,

and the government structure is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The head of state is His

Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni (CIA, 2023). The currency of Cambodia is called riel, and its

official language is Khmer (Ledgerwood, 2023). Cambodia is known for its tourist spots, such as

Angkor Wat. In fact, it is the only country in Southeast Asia to have a national landmark on its

flag. Historically, Cambodia has been colonized by two (2) countries: France and Japan. France

ruled Cambodia for 90 years, from 1863 to 1953. In the Second World War, the Japanese

occupied Cambodia from 1941 to 1945. Cambodia has a GDP of USD 30.63 billion and a GDP

per Capita of USD 1.9 thousand (International Monetary Fund, 2023). In terms of current global

rank in economic freedom, Cambodia ranks 110th in the world, meaning its economy lacks

freedom (The Heritage Foundation, n.d.). Politically, Cambodia is experiencing instability due to

authoritarian rule and abusive laws (Human Rights Watch, 2023).

II. Cambodia: The History

A. The Khmer Rouge: Cambodian Genocide

During the history of Cambodia, an unfortunate event led to the country being under the rule of

Pol Pot and the organization that he headed named Khmer Rouge (Gruspier & Pollanen, 2017).

Through this, the organization utilized the country and its resources to seek an agrarian and

socialist society in order to transform the nation into one that did not possess class divisions.

Despite their clear goal that would manifest for the benefit of the people, the execution of the
Khmer Rouge led to the extreme policies that would result in the long-term widespread suffering

and the loss of lives of approximately two million people in the country (Delano & Knottnerus,

2018). Moreover, those who were assessed to be enemies of the governing body of the country,

be it professionals to minorities, were to be handled accordingly and executed by the

organization discreetly. This was a dark era for the nation and its people as many more people

died of overwork and illnesses due to the harsh conditions. Eventually, the organization was

overthrown by the Vietnamese in 1979 and would lead to the country’s subjection to the

succeeding foreign governing body, ending an era and starting the reign of another.

B. The 1979-1989 Vietnamese Occupation

The Vietnamese Occupation that occurred during the 10-year span of 1979 to 1989 subjected the

Asian country to a period of political instability and further challenges that not only stemmed

from the past oppressors, but also from the new foreign body (Wheeler, 2002). During the reign

of the Vietnamese, they inducted a puppet government called the People’s Republic of

Kampuchea or PRK, which aimed to remove the remnants of the Khmer Rouge and instill

Vietnamese values and interests in the eyes of the Cambodian people. The interaction between

the Vietnamese government and Cambodia along with its people strained the latter’s connections

with their neighboring countries and outside nations as a whole (Zimmer et al, 2006). Numerous

other countries went to the aid of Cambodia in the hopes of supporting the anti-Vietnamese

parties and bringing down the country as they viewed such a threat to their own nations’

progression, which worked negatively in the favor of Cambodia as it only prolonged and

complicated the conflict. As such, the Vietnamese Occupation ended in 1989 after the remaining

foreign troops left the country and led to the eventual independence of Cambodia.

C. Border Disputes
The issue of border disputes in Cambodia is the root cause of various conflicts and territorial

problems within the nation and its neighboring countries, specifically both Vietnam and

Thailand. Such examples of territorial or border disputes that the country possesses are the

Thai-Cambodian and Cambodian-Vietnamese border disputes, that have lasted for several years

(Wagener, 2011). Throughout the history of Cambodia’s nation as a whole, there have been

several attempts in order to address and resolve these disputes with regards to borders and

territories. This was also a main reason as to the involvement of Cambodia with the organization

Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN. Through this, the fairly recent induction of

Cambodia to the Southeast Asian organization will prove to be beneficial in order to not only

mitigate, but find overall resolutions to the long-lasting problems that the Asian country has with

regards to territories.

III. Cambodia: The Economy

A. Slow economic growth

According to the World Bank, Cambodia was one of the heavily impacted countries during the

pandemic. Yet before the World Health Organization declared the pandemic, Cambodia had

robust economic growth and significant poverty reduction. The region's pre-pandemic growth

rate decreased by 10.1% (World Bank, 2022). The three (3) key channels that were highly

impacted by the pandemic are: tourism, trade, and foreign direct investment. Currently, the

country is on its way to fully recovering from the pandemic, but they are still faced with the pace

of economic growth. There is currently low labor productivity in Cambodia (World Bank, 2022).

In addition, there is a lack of diversity and activity among the markets in Cambodia. Competition

among firms results in an active market because it forces firms to innovate better goods and price

them competitively. With the lack of competition among firms in Cambodia, this results in the
country exporting five (5) main commodities which account for the majority of exported goods.

With the low labor productivity of firms and lack of diversified exports, this results in a slow

economic growth.

B. Poverty

Cambodia has a high poverty rate. The latest official poverty rate of Cambodia was obtained in

2019, with 17.8% of the population living below the poverty line. The impact of poverty can be

seen in the food security statistics of the nation, with 45% of Cambodians experiencing food

insecurity (USAID, n.d.). Unfortunately, for every 1,000 infants born, 25 infants pass away

before they reach the age of 5 (Asian Development Bank, 2022). Comparing the aforementioned

data to their poverty rate of 0.4% (World Bank, n.d.), one can deduce that even if most

Cambodians are employed, they are not making enough money to make ends meet. This may be

exacerbated to the inflation rate of 3% (International Monetary Fund, 2023). Cambodia’s

inflation rate is lower compared to other ASEAN countries, such as the Philippines, but it still

contributes to the hardships that the less fortunate citizens suffer. Nonetheless, it is noteworthy to

mention that Cambodia has made progress in decreasing poverty in their country. Over a decade

of progress from 2010 to 2020 has shown significant progress in reducing poverty: from 33.8%

to 17.8% (World Bank, 2022).

C. Unfavorable business landscape

Cambodia is considered one of the hardest places to set up a business in South East Asia.

Cambodia currently holds a score of 24 in the Corruption Perception Index. The Corruption

Perception Index (CPI) grades each country from 0 to 100, with 0 being the most corrupt and 100

being the least corrupt. The score that Cambodia obtained in the CPI means that bribery and

bureaucracy in Cambodia is rampant, which leads to unfair or illegal advantages in the market,
leading to unethical and unproductive practices. This corruption directly impacts the legislative,

judiciary, and private sector of the country. In the Rule of Law Index conducted by the World

Justice Project, Cambodia ranked second to the lowest country, right above Venezuela. Which

means that the rule of law in Cambodia is weak, which exacerbates social unrest and other

harmful practices within the country that are unfavorable for businesses. In terms of commerce

costs in Cambodia, the rising oil and infrastructure prices within the country are concerning

(World Bank, 2022). Cambodia currently has underdeveloped infrastructures and poor logistic

performance compared to other countries in the South East Asia region, which discourages

growth in the global market. The corruption, red tape, and high cost of maintaining business

within Cambodia discourages foreign direct investment, which will hinder the macroeconomic

growth of the country and decrease the employment opportunities of citizens.

IV. Cambodia: The Politics

A. Corruption

Based on the CPI, Cambodia strikingly performs worse than other ASEAN countries. In fact,

with a score of 20 out of 100, Cambodia had the lowest CPI among the ASEAN nations in 2019.

Cambodia has only made a slight improvement in the following years. In 2021, the country

scored 23 out of 100 and was ranked 157th globally. In 2022, it scored 24 out of 100 but was still

ranked 150th overall out of the 180 countries (Schoeberlein, 2020). Cambodia’s severe

governance flaws, including those from the past, are substantially to blame for corruption still

being a significant challenge in the nation. Being in power since 1985, Prime Minister Hun Sen

has even increased his reliance on corruption and nepotism to maintain the support of his allies

(Freedom House, 2022). In particular, the CPP has used its power to fill positions in the

government based on party allegiance. With police officers and judicial officers then being
chosen based on political grounds, there is a more common occurrence of abuses by law

enforcement and the judiciary, the elites are protected with impunity, and the government is

assisted by the judiciary in prosecuting cases against opposition members (Freedom House,

2020). Moreover, cases of corruption in Cambodia can be seen through political funding by

private entities in exchange for contracts, licenses, and advisory positions in the government, as

well as Cambodians being the most likely in the region to have paid a bribe when trying to

receive identity documents, when interacting with the courts, when accessing utilities, and when

dealing with hospitals (Schoeberlein, 2020).

B. Transnational crimes

Due to its history, unstable administration, and system of widespread government corruption,

Cambodia became a regional and international hub for transnational crime. As crime is weakly

tolerated and even enabled by the administration’s form of corruption, human trafficking and

drug trafficking are two of the country’s leading organized crime problems. For a long time,

Cambodia has struggled with a serious issue of human trafficking for sexual exploitation and

forced labor. In UNHCR’s report in 2008, Cambodia is already said to be a significant transit,

source, and destination country for human trafficking in Southeast Asia (UNHCR, 2009). Given

the lack of progress, the rising number of victims, and the lack of prosecution in the country,

Cambodia was even downgraded in 2022 from a Tier 2 to a Tier 3 country on the US State

Department's human trafficking index (Trafficking in Persons Report, 2022). Human trafficking

crimes, kidnapping, unlawful detention, and forced labor have all increased in Cambodia along

with the number of Chinese criminal organizations pretending to be investors, but actually

operate scam companies. Because there has historically been little to no government oversight

and a large supply of forced labor, organized crime was even free to grow their scams as quickly
as they could (Sokvy, 2022). As for drug trafficking, drugs produced in neighboring countries are

brought into Cambodia for local consumption. Cambodia has also been used by drug traffickers

as a country of transit, threatening regional stability, security, and resilience (Othman, 2001).

C. Abuses to human rights, political rights, and civil liberties

The last several years of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s rule saw a severe deterioration in human

rights. Laws and bills that further abuse rather than protect human rights were drafted and

created by the Cambodian government recently. These include the law enhancing the

government’s powers to monitor all internet activities and block and disconnect internet

connections, the cybercrime bill which poses further threats to online speech, a draft public order

law that seeks to control people’s daily lives by prohibiting a vast array of public and private

actions, a draft disability law that reinforces stigma against people with disabilities, and using the

law on the COVID-19 pandemic and public health measures as a disguise to expand authoritarian

control by further curtailing free speech, privacy rights, media freedoms, peaceful assembly, and

civic space, ahead of commune and national elections (Human Rights Watch, 2023). Moreover, it

has been common for the government to subject opposition members, political activists, human

rights defenders, and journalists to pressure, harassment, intimidation, violence, politically

motivated prosecutions, and arrests on unsupported charges of “incitement,” “inciting military

personnel to disobedience,” and “conspiracy” (Freedom House, 2022; Human Rights Watch,

2023; Schoeberlein, 2020). Authorities even threatened candidates to withdraw their candidacies

or face spurious criminal charges and prosecution, and still were able to remove as many as 150

opposition party candidates from Cambodia’s National Election Committee lists before the

commune elections last June 2022 (Human Rights Watch, 2023).

V. The ASEAN and Cambodia: The Proposed Solutions

 A. Border Disputes

ASEAN has initiated conflict resolution agreements between Cambodia and Thailand. The

foreign representatives of Cambodia and Thailand met in Indonesia with ASEAN ministers. The

ASEAN advocates for negotiations between Member States to be conducted with trust and

respect. In addition, the ASEAN also stands for non-interference, meaning it respects the

sovereignty of nations. The aforementioned values guided the ASEAN in helping Cambodia and

Thailand reach an unofficial ceasefire to stop the violence and bloodshed that occurred between

their borders (VAO, 2011).

B. The ASEAN and Cambodia: Economic Issues

The economic growth of Cambodia is slower than the global community's expectations. With

this, Cambodia’s administration is looking for opportunities and solutions to grow their economy

and increase competition within their markets. The ASEAN has provided its Member States with

dependable economic allies. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a

free trade agreement among 16 Southeast Asian, East Asian, and Oceanic countries. The ASEAN

chose to form an economic alliance with East Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, China

due to their flourishing economy. Cambodia is also a participant in the ASEAN Free Trade

Agreement, based on the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint, which encourages the free

flow of goods with less red tape and tariffs (ASEAN, 2008). Over the period of 2004 to 2014, the

Cambodian economy experienced remarkable growth, averaging 7.8%, which placed it among

the fastest-growing economies globally. The rapid economic progress has resulted in the

upliftment of 5 million people from poverty since 2004, positioning Cambodia as a leader in

poverty reduction within East Asia and worldwide.

Given that Cambodia is considered as one of the hardest places to set up a business in South East

Asia, in ways the ASEAN has still supported them to increase improvement with regards to their

unfavorable business environment. The introduction of the ASEAN Economic Community

(AEC) in 2015 had the objective of establishing a unified market and production base, fostering

the seamless movement of goods, services, investment, and skilled labor within the ASEAN

region. This integration has effectively bolstered trade and business prospects for all member

nations, including Cambodia (ASEAN, 2015). The AEC has positively impacted Cambodia's

business landscape in the ways of: expanded market access for Cambodian businesses within the

ASEAN region, reduced trade barriers, and facilitated trade procedures. The AEC has also

attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) into Cambodia, leading to increased capital inflows and

business opportunities. Additionally, the AEC has promoted business collaboration and

networking, as well as facilitated the free movement of skilled labor, providing opportunities for

Cambodian professionals to gain valuable experience. Moreover, Cambodia has experienced

significant growth in the tourism sector, ranking third in ASEAN for tourist growth rate in 2018.

Cambodia also focused on developing a digital-economic platform to create new business

opportunities in areas such as digital payment, online entertainment, and e-commerce. The

transition to a digital economy has also benefited investors by reducing transaction costs and

increasing business activity.

C. The ASEAN and Cambodia: Political Issues

With help, participation, and support from the public and international cooperation,

Cambodia has been fighting corruption through education, prevention, and law enforcement.

Cambodia has been a member of organizations or international agreements concerning

anti-corruption, such as the South East Asia Parties Against Corruption (SEA-PAC) since 2007,
and the ASEAN Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters since 2010. Moreover, as the

anti-corruption law in Cambodia went into effect in 2011, it gave rise to appropriate

anti-corruption organizations such as the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU). The ACU then worked

with national, regional, and international organizations to carry out its duty and combat

transnational corruption offenses. For instance, being a member of SEA-PAC allowed the ACU

to communicate and exchange information with other SEA-PAC members on both administrative

work and corruption-related issues, as well as learn from and receive technical training from

various countries such as Singapore. Furthermore, the SEA-PAC, later renamed to ASEAN-PAC,

under the chairmanship of the ACU Cambodia, was able to organize a Capacity Building

Workshop focusing on anti-corruption education and corruption prevention strategies on a

national scale and establishing an anti-corruption ecosystem in the ASEAN region.

ASEAN also has bodies that are generally involved, directly or indirectly, in developing

policies and launching initiatives against transnational crime, including the ASEAN Ministerial

Meeting on Transnational Crime, the ASEAN Finance Ministers Meeting, the ASEAN Chiefs of

National Police, and the ASEAN Senior Officials on Drugs Matters (Pushpanathan, 1999). In

addition, Cambodia has adopted the ASEAN Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal

Matters, which requires member countries to assist one another, among other things, in victim

identification and investigations. Cambodia has also benefited from the ASEAN-Australia

Counter Trafficking (ASEAN-ACT) initiative, which promotes cooperation in the justice sector

and offers technical assistance to strengthen criminal justice responses to human trafficking in

Cambodia. In particular, the National Committee for Counter Trafficking (NCCT) in Cambodia

was assisted by ASEAN-ACT in conducting training sessions on the forms and methods for

identifying trafficked victims. Following this training, NCCT started a review of the guidelines
for identifying victims so that victims of human trafficking may receive appropriate support.

NGOs were also consulted through the NGO technical working committee and the Forum on

Migrant Labor and Human Trafficking (“Cambodia”, 2022).

To advance human rights in the ASEAN nations, the ASEAN Intergovernmental

Commission on Human Rights was founded in 2009. The ASEAN Human Rights Declaration

was then written by the Commission by mid-2012. The declaration reaffirms ASEAN's

commitment to advancing the respect for and promotion and protection of human rights and

fundamental freedoms, as well as the principles of democracy, the rule of law, and good

governance. However, in the case of Cambodia, the Cambodian government itself is violating

and abusing human rights. While ASEAN is known for its principle of non-interference in the

internal affairs of states, ASEAN is still able to voice its concerns, promote the protection of

human rights, and fight for the rights of Cambodian citizens with the ASEAN Parliamentarians

for Human Rights. As the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights believe, nothing will stop

Hun Sen from further solidifying his dictatorship unless the international community takes some

sort of action.

VI. The ASEAN and Cambodia: The Efficacy Proposed Solutions

One cannot change the past, such as the Khmer Rouge and the Vietnamese occupation. Be that as

it may, it is important to remember one of the priorities of the ASEAN which is political-security

and respecting the sovereignty of nations. Regarding the border issue of Cambodia and Thailand,

the concerned countries have reached a ceasefire. This feat merits commendation from

international organizations, it is no small task to help disputing states reach a ceasefire. As of this

writing, there has been no news of violence or casualties at the border between Cambodia and

Thailand. Thus, observers can confidently state that the intervention of the ASEAN and other
stakeholders has been successful. In terms of Economic plans that were initiated by the ASEAN,

Cambodia has benefited greatly from the RCEP and other ASEAN economic initiatives.

According to the UN Development Programme, Cambodia has made significant economic

progress from the moment it has joined the ASEAN; making a 7.7% increase in economic

growth between 1993 and 2013 (UNDP, 2015). In addition, the foreign direct investment

increased from USD 118 million to USD 3.48 billion from 2000 to 2021 (World Bank, 2021).

Economic growth that Cambodia has experienced also contributed to the astonishing leap of

decreasing their poverty from 33.8% to 17.8% (World Bank, 2022). Poverty among ASEAN

Member States has declined significantly since they joined the ASEAN. Collectively, the poverty

rate among ASEAN countries decreased from 47% to 15% between 1990 and 2015 (ASEAN,

n.d.). Regarding the political issues of Cambodia, there has been a lack of improvement in

decreasing corruption and human trafficking. The United States deems that the government of

Cambodia requires more initiative to decrease human trafficking (US Mission Cambodia, 2023).

Cambodia remains on Tier 3 of the Trafficking in Persons Report, the lowest tier. The allies of

the US avoid being in Tier 3 to encourage a fruitful alliance (Regalado, 2022).

VII. Recommendation

The authors recommend the following measures to improve the state of Cambodia: (1) Continue

to utilize their partnership with the ASEAN to uphold the collective development of Member

States, (2) Implement political reforms to combat corruption and human trafficking, and (3)

Collaborate with the ASEAN and other international organizations (e.g. UN Food and

Agriculture Organization) to increase food security and mortality rates.

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