Cambodia should deepen strategic and economic cooperation with Japan while maintaining close ties with China and other partners, avoiding geopolitical blocs and preserving strategic autonomy.
– Kin Phea, director-general of the International Relations Institute of Cambodia, said this Friday at a policy dialogue on “Deepening Cambodia-Japan-ASEAN Strategic Dialogue: Japan’s Global Message of Peace and Human Security” at the Royal Academy of Cambodia.
– Phea said the nation’s foreign policy should remain open and focused on expanding choices rather than taking sides.
– He said the approach is important for Cambodia as economic-security concerns, maritime tensions and transnational threats – including cybercrime – continue to grow.
– “Cooperation with Japan should not be interpreted as choosing a partner. We never choose Japan to substitute for China, or vice versa,” he said. “We never choose China to replace Japan, because all countries – we are friends to all, enemies to none.”
– Phea said bilateral relations have developed beyond a traditional donor-recipient dynamic, with Japan’s contributions to peace, reconstruction, infrastructure and human-resource development creating trust.
– He said the next stage should convert that trust into practical cooperation, particularly Japanese private investment, technology, economic resilience, digital governance, education and research.
– “Japanese investment is not only about economic benefit. It’s about a role model. It’s about a symbol of foreign direct investment in Cambodia,” he said.
– He added that Japanese investment demonstrates confidence in the political and economic environment. “When Japanese investment comes to Cambodia, it signifies that Cambodia is peaceful, is stable, politically stable, and also has the rule of law, accountability and transparency,” he said.
– Bilateral trade reached nearly $2 billion in the first eight months of 2026. According to General Department of Customs and Excise data, trade reached $1.99 billion from January to August, up 18.7% from $1.67 billion during the same period in 2025. Japan is Cambodia’s fourth-largest trading partner after China, the US and Vietnam.
– Phea said Japan’s regional role should be viewed beyond development assistance, highlighting its contributions to international rules, peace, resilience, dialogue and human security.
– He proposed expanding cooperation into peace education, youth exchanges, post-conflict learning, mine action and human security, noting that Cambodia’s experience in reconciliation and mine action complements Japan’s peacebuilding work.
– He highlighted a visit to Hiroshima as an opportunity to examine how historical memory contributes to peace education, nuclear disarmament, human dignity and preventive diplomacy.