MANILA, Philippines – The Cambodian ambassador who accused the Philippines of playing “dirty politics” has been ordered to leave.

Cambodia has recalled its ambassador to the Philippines, Hos Sereythonh, the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed Friday, August 10. “It is the prerogative of a sending state to assign or reassign its ambassador,” DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez explained in a text message.

Hernandez said Cambodia did not state the reason for Hos’ recall.

In a letter to the Philippine Star on July 30, Hos criticized DFA Undersecretary Erlinda Basilio for blaming Cambodia over the unprecedented absence of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) joint communiqué after its foreign ministers’ summit in Phnom Penh.

The ambassador also slammed the Philippines and Vietnam for supposedly insisting to include South China Sea issues in the joint statement. Hos said, “(To) try to blame Cambodia, as the Asean chair, for what essentially was the inflexible and non-negotiable positions of the two countries of Asean, is dirty politics and therefore it should have no place in Asean.”

Meanwhile, Hernandez stressed Cambodia “is an Asean member and a friend.” “We hope the Cambodian ambassador will help reinforce the friendship that exists between the two countries,” he said.

Observers see Cambodia’s decades-long relations with China as having influenced the non-issuance of an Asean joint statement. – Rappler.com