ENGAGING WITH THE NUG
Progress in negotiations will also “in some way” pave the way for Cambodia to open a dialogue with the NUG, Mr Sokhonn said.
“But I have to say that we have heard many voices calling for engagement with the NUG. Not only from outside, but also among colleagues, ASEAN ministers, ASEAN foreign ministers. I have (especially) a very vocal voice from our colleague from Malaysia,” Mr Sokhonn said, referring to Malaysia’s foreign minister Saifuddin Abdullah.
“He has openly stated that he has engaged with the NUG. We have to recognise that countries are sovereign. They have their sovereign rights to engage with whomever they want. Whomever they consider for their best interests, for their own national interests,” he added.
The NUG’s foreign minister, Zin Mar Aung, met with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Mr Saifuddin on the sidelines of a US-ASEAN summit in Washington in May.
Mr Sokhonn said he would not take the same approach as his Malaysian counterpart.
“I don’t need to shout from a rooftop on what we are doing. You know that negotiations are often about discretion, and most of the time, it is done in a very discreet, if not secret manner.
“Just be aware that we are engaging with all parties concerned within our mandate,” said Mr Sokhonn, who declined to give further details.
When asked if this meant he had started talking to the NUG, Mr Sokhonn replied: “This is still confidential. And whatever we do, there will be an appropriate time when we will tell the public what we have been doing, with all those political players”.
So far, only the US and Malaysia have openly and informally engaged with the NUG.
CNA understands that at least two other ASEAN member states, as well as the Chinese embassy in Myanmar, are talking to the NUG.
LONG-DRAWN PROCESS
Despite Mr Sokhonn’s optimistic assessment of his second trip, Cambodia’s engagement with the Myanmar junta has not entirely gone to plan.
Repeated requests for Mr Sokhonn to meet Aung San Suu Kyi have been denied. His plea to the military in June to transfer Aung San Suu Kyi from prison detention to house arrest also fell on deaf ears. Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen’s appeal for the army to shelve plans to execute political prisoners was also ignored.
“Negotiation is about, you know, bargaining,” Mr Sokhonn said of the rejections.
“You put something new, and then you take it back. And sometimes it’s disappointing, I have to say, when we advance two steps and then we have to get backwards one or two steps. That’s very frustrating,” he said.
“But I won’t give up. What we have achieved so far is already encouraging enough to give us hope that for the future, despite all those hurdles, we can advance well and achieve the goal of helping Myanmar back to normalcy.”
ASEAN NOT BEING TOO SOFT ON MYANMAR: SOKHONN
Mr Sokhonn noted that other ASEAN countries have called for stronger measures against Myanmar.
Singapore, in particular, has pointed to the lack of “any significant progress” in the implementation of the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar since its adoption last year.
Malaysia’s Mr Saifuddin has recently pressed for more pressure on Myanmar, adding that he was concerned the Myanmar military might be emboldened by ASEAN’s lack of seemingly non-concrete actions.
“I would say that some ASEAN countries have been too hard against Myanmar,” Mr Sokhonn said.
“We have principles enshrined in the charter of ASEAN – the principle of non-interference, the principle of equality. Each ASEAN member state is equal, and that is not the case with the treatment that we have imposed on Myanmar.
“Myanmar has been asked to downgrade its representation at all ASEAN meetings, until today. And that is not right. Why? Because nothing is said in the charter,” Mr Sokhonn said.
“There is no downgrading representation of ASEAN member states in the charter. We have to respect the sovereignty of every member state.
“We cannot interfere in the internal affairs of any individual member state. But we did interfere, to a certain degree. We downgraded the Myanmar representation (to) a certain degree; we have turned a blind eye (to) those principles,” he said.
On ending violence in Myanmar, Mr Sokhonn said that there needs to be a way to reduce violence by all sides exercising utmost restraint.
“That explains my hope to see Aung San Suu Kyi, playing some role with her principle of non-violence to persuade the PDF (People’s Defence Force) or any armed forces to stop fighting,” he said.
“That would contribute to the ending of the violence. Otherwise, I’m afraid we are going to see continued violence from any side, from both sides.”
Watch the full interview with Mr Prak Sokhonn on In Conversation, Jul 27 at 9pm Singapore time.