At the request of US State Department officials who participated in the first roundtable, this virtual Preparatory Session lays the groundwork for the second US State Department Roundtable on Cambodia. It responds directly to their call for continued input from Khmer civil society and Cambodian experts to inform US policy engagement.
To frame these critical issues and offer expert perspectives, Brad Adams opens the session with insights gathered from a former U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia and other high-level experts. Their views echo the concerns raised by more than 650 Khmer international respondents (52% of whom were based in Cambodia), who helped shape the first roundtable on March 26, 2025. Together, they identified urgent areas where the US needs to take action.
Three Priority Areas Identified:
Worsening political repression and destruction of democratic institutions.
Growing disproportionate influence of China and Vietnam in Cambodia — including Chinese military and economic participation and increasing Vietnamese political influence.
Need for stronger U.S. economic pressure to influence the actions of the Hun Manet and Hun Sen regime.
In addition to these three priority issues, participants and experts highlighted two critical concerns. First, the need to revisit the US government’s decision to defund NDI, IRI, RFA, and VOA, which serve as vital sources of critical sources of information and intelligence that have long supported democratic efforts in Cambodia and Southeast Asia. Second, a new development of the regime’s latest expansion of repression builds on a longstanding pattern that includes political assassinations and the forced return of exiled dissidents from countries like Thailand and Malaysia.
Following this Preparatory Session, there will be a series of Khmer language virtual, focused community discussions.
Each discussion will center on one of the priority areas, allowing participants to contribute insights and share concerns.