PHNOM PENH: Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strongly denounced the long-arm jurisdiction of the United States over Cambodian officials on the basis of groundless allegations driven by geopolitical motives.

The statement from the ministry says that the smear campaign and unilateral sanction of the United States against public figures of a sovereign state not only violate international laws and basic norms governing international relations but display an utter contempt for the independence of another country as well as act as a serious interference in its domestic affairs.

Cambodia has always expressed its desire for stronger and closer relations, despite the painful past with the United States. This week, the Department of State has obviously showed its interest in “working together with Cambodia as the next ASEAN Chair”. However, the illegally imposed prohibition is another step in the wrong direction, which totally swerved from the spirit of amity and renewed endeavors to elevate the productive partnership between the two countries in the area of trade and investment, counter-terrorism, peacekeeping, POW/MIA, repatriation, peace corps volunteers, people-to-people linkage and other key regional issues of shared interests.