PHNOM PENH: US Embassy Spokesman, Chad Roedemeier, told EAC News that the embassy was closely following Prime Minister Hun Sen’s visit to Myanmar on 7 January. Although he did not say whether he supported or opposed the visit, the spokesman said the United States urges Cambodia to use its ASEAN chairmanship to ensure the implementation of ASEAN's five-point consensus principle for Myanmar and to ensure the ASEAN Special Envoy will meet with all the relevant stakeholders in Myanmar.

“We support the ASEAN Five Point Consensus and urge Cambodia, as the 2022 ASEAN Chair, to continue to press for implementation of the Five Points and to ensure that any visit by the ASEAN Special Envoy includes meeting with all parties concerned. We reiterate our call for the Burmese military regime to end the use of violence, release all those unjustly detained, and engage in constructive dialogue with all parties that respects the will of the people of Burma,” the Spokesman wrote in his email reply to EAC News.

ASEAN's Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar calls for an end to the violence, the establishment of a multilateral dialogue, the coordination of ASEAN special envoys, the provision of humanitarian assistance and the granting of special envoys to visit Myanmar.

The Spokesman of the Royal Government of Cambodia, Phay Siphan, said that the statement of the US Embassy in Cambodia is slower than the Prime Minister’s actions, as Prime Minister Hun Sen has achieved results beyond the five-point consensus of ASEAN. He added that Prime Minister’s solution to Myanmar was to promote the implementation of this consensus.

He said, "The United States does not seem to understand and have misunderstood that the Prime Minister did everything alone, in the language of Cowboy Diplomacy that was used in conjunction with the Prime Minister’s actions. Because the Prime Minister did not just implement this consensus, but he did what was sustainable.”

On Monday, at the inauguration ceremony of National Road No. 5 connecting Battambang to Serey Sophorn city in Banteay Meancheay, Prime Minister Hun Sen instructed ASEAN to establish two mechanisms, including a mechanism to ensure the end to the violence and to provide humanitarian aid to Myanmar, in order to pave the way for negotiations and the 2023 elections in Myanmar.

The Prime Minister suggested that the ceasefire mechanism discussions should include the past, current and future ASEAN chairmanship, and the ASEAN Secretary-General to coordinate the ceasefire in Myanmar and maintain security, and welcome the ASEAN Special Envoy to hold dialogues between all parties before the 2023 Myanmar elections.

Prime Minister Hun Sen visited Myanmar on 7-8 January to help find a solution to the conflict and bring the country back to ASEAN. Following the visit, China has expressed its full support, saying that Cambodia has played an active role and contributed significantly to the management of differences between the two political sides in Myanmar, through the holding of political dialogue and the development of stabilization and settlement at an early stage.