Kimkong Heng

Kimkong Heng

Visiting Senior Fellow, Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace

Mr Kimkong Heng is Visiting Senior Fellow at the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace and a PhD candidate at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen speaks during a ground breaking ceremony for the construction of a bridge across the Bassac river in Phnom Penh on 26 October 2020. (Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP)

Cambodia needs to avoid putting all its eggs in the Chinese basket

Cambodia’s post-pandemic foreign policy is constrained by the need to sustain its economic growth while maintaining independence and sovereignty, amid the challenge and uncertainty caused by the growing strategic competition between China and the US. Academic Kimkong Heng says Cambodia needs to refrain from actions that appear to serve China’s core strategic interests, proactively engage all strategic partners, and walk a diplomatic tightrope between China and the US.