By Luke Hunt
The fighting within the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) over its relationship with China and the disputed islands in the seas that divide them has struck another sour chord with the Cambodian Ambassador to Manila Hos Sereythonh being sent home.
This came after he accused The Philippines and Vietnam of playing "dirty politics" in their push to establish a united ASEAN stand among its 10 members for dealing with China on the issue. Beijing wants disputes involving the Spratly and Paracel islands dealt with on a bilateral basis.
The resource-rich islands are claimed entirely by China and all or in part by Vietnam, The Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, and straddle important trading routes through the South China Sea, also known as the West Philippine Sea and the East Sea in Vietnam.
Claiming he was ill, Hos did not heed the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) repeated summons last week. He instead sent his Second Secretary Tan Chandaravuth to accept the note seeking an explanation to the situation. Tan, who attended a recent DFA event, also reportedly refused to comment.
Read the full story at The Diplomat