Japan promotes balanced partnerships in Southeast Asia without forcing countries to choose sides

PHNOM PENH, Mar. 13, 2026 (KPT) — Japan is advancing a strategy of balanced partnerships in Southeast Asia that avoids pressuring smaller countries to align with major powers, a Japanese scholar said Thursday.

Speaking at a discussion on Japan’s evolving Indo-Pacific strategy, Ken Jimbo, professor of international relations, said countries such as Cambodia should diversify partnerships to strengthen strategic autonomy.

“Cambodia can become stronger by maintaining leverage through engagement with various partners,” he said, citing cooperation with Japan, the United States, Australia, Singapore and the European Union as examples of balanced diplomacy.

Jimbo stressed that Japan’s Indo-Pacific vision does not seek to pit countries against one another, but rather to support a rules-based order, open markets and regional stability.

Pou Sothirak, senior advisor to the Cambodian Center for Regional Studies, said Cambodia can play a constructive role in strengthening cooperation between Japan and ASEAN. “Cambodia is an active member of ASEAN and also a good friend of Japan,” he said.

Jimbo added that regional cooperation is increasingly vital as global power dynamics shift, with Japan viewing Southeast Asia as central to its Indo-Pacific strategy.