Cambodia's Prince Sihanouk:

...Sihanouk's answer is neutrality...

...During the struggle for independence, for example, he exiled himself with a great crescendo of publicity, and when the news value of this gambit wore out, he dramatically returned...

...This is why the Prince has been careful to keep his channels open to the Communist world, and why he made his recent trip to Prague, Moscow and Peking...

...1 wish," Sihanouk has said, "that the Western friends of Thailand and South Vietnam, who are also ours, would make them understand that if Bangkok and Saigon persist in not [accepting our policy of] neutrality and in threatening our independence [and] our territorial integrity, we shall call on the Communist powers to make ourselves Communist...

...To Sihanouk, the East-West conflict is a bothersome affair which only jeopardizes the freedom of his country...

...He tramped the hustings as energetically as any Midwest Congressman, using many of the same time-tested methods...

...This has led to a long series of border incidents over the last few years which have resulted in a deterioration of relations between Cambodia and its neighbors on the one hand, and between Cambodia and the United States on the other...

...Many Americans wish that Sihanouk would apply his "practical" neutrality with a little more understanding of U.S...

...problems...

...Cambodia is wedged between Thailand on the west, Vietnam on the east and Laos on the north and northeast...

...This behavior, while seemingly unstable and irresponsible, is actually the astute maneuvering of a shrewd and imaginative (if somewhat unorthodox) politician who knows which tactics are best suited to the moods and fancies of his constituents...

...The Prince, however, feels that his policies have not received the serious and respectful attention normally accorded the actions of heads of state...

...And this has been true despite the fact that over 12 per cent of its population consists of Chinese and Vietnamese...

...While coups, uprisings, revolutions and guerrilla warfare have plagued independent Burma, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam, Cambodia has been relatively peaceful...

...Right or wrong, from his vantage point this is at least arguable...

...Cambodia, thanks to the Prince, was the first of the three states that formerly made up French Indochina to gain its freedom...

...Two years after independence, in 1955, Sihanouk turned the throne over to his father and became an active politician...

...Sihanouk's domestic record is outstanding...

...United States newspapers have characterized him as mercurial, immature, irresponsible, naive and politically incompetent...

...On January 7, 1946, the French installed a new administration in Cambodia and named Sihanouk, then 24 years old, King...

...In November 1953—some months ahead of Laos and Vietnam—Cambodia achieved independence...

...We are neutral in the same way Switzerland and Sweden are neutral [and] anyone who examines our votes in the United Nations [will soon see that] they are not often 'aligned' with those of the bloc of 'neutralist' nations...

...In fact, he makes a clear distinction between his brand of neutrality and the neutralism of Egypt and Indonesia, which he regards as "fundamentally different...

...But indirectly, Cambodia is threatened by the cold war because it is responsible for the shipment of U.S...

...John P. Armstrong, who has traveled throughout Southeast Asia, is now doing a research project on Cambodia...

...The Prince has observed too, that "our neutrality is not ideological...

...Moreover, Sihanouk's neutrality is somewhat more consistent and intelligent than the emotional neutralism of many newly independent countries...

...These are the realities of Cambodia's position as Sihanouk sees them: The cold war is of direct concern to bis country only if one of the competing "ideologies" decides that it has become strategically necessary to occupy it...

...In addition to quitting the throne, he has resigned or threatened to resign from the premiership at least half a dozen times in the last five years...

...Sihanouk has refined the tool of resignation into a sharp, effective instrument...

...His feeling is not entirely without foundation...

...How is it possible, the Prince asked last May, to keep on good terms with America "in the face of a series of plots, the unjust, slanderous and harmful writings and propaganda, and in the face of this open protection [by Thailand and Vietnam, apparently] of traitors whom they pay and arm so lavishly in utter scorn of international rules...

...Should Laos turn Communist, Cambodia—with an army of only 25,000—would share an uncomfortable border with the Communists...

...They hoped he would be a docile puppet, but instead he spent the next eight years as leader of the independence movement...

...As for Laos, it is the only buffer between Cambodia and the world of Red China and Communist North Vietnam...

...But Sihanouk is aware of the danger this involves, as can be seen from the following statement in an article he wrote for Foreign Affairs: "I abdicated in 1955 to save the monarchy—not to abandon it the first concern of the Communists is to get rid of the King and natural elite of any country they succeed in laying their hands on...

...understanding of the domestic and foreign problems that plague Cambodia, he points to a record of 14 years of accomplishment and asks to be judged on that...

...Nevertheless it would be wrong to assume that the reputation of this former king who is now chef d'etat of Cambodia has no basis in fact...

...and for the still unsatisfied or uncertain there was a fourth ballot carrying only a question mark...

...At one time or another during the last 400 years each has tried to take over Cambodia, and each still claims portions of Cambodian territory...

...We are not 'militant neutrals' like some of the Asian, Arab and African nations our neutrality is a practical one...

...In foreign affairs, too, Sihanouk's policies have met with success...

...On one occasion he resigned, returned and resigned again within less than three months...

...for financial aid...

...arms to Thailand and Vietnam and is strengthening their "aggressive designs...

...He looks at the internal unrest in Laos and Vietnam and scorns the suggestion that the best antidote against the "Red Fever" is western military guarantees...

...In a more recent election, the Prince let the voters choose between himself, a former Cambodian premier now in exile, and the Communists...

...One news magazine has credited him with having "unveiled a second rule of aidsmanship: always bite the hand that feeds you...

...Seeking U.S...

...normally accords heads of state Cambodia's Prince Sihanouk By John P. Armstrong Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia, who incurred Washington's displeasure recently by refusing to participate in a three-nation commission to investigate the crisis in neighboring Laos, feels that the American press is "the chief culprit" in the frequent misunderstandings between his country and the West...

...Thus, each time Sihanouk threatens to resign, his people realize that there really is no alterna-.· tive to his rule...

...His policies may not be entirely to the West's liking, but he has managed to maintain his country's independence, territorial integrity and freedom of action in the face of enormous cold war pressures...

...Cambodia's neutrality, he explains, has been "imposed on us by necessity...

...Though Thailand and Vietnam are allies of the United States, they are traditional enemies of Cambodia...

...As a result, his "community"—he refuses to call it a party—won all the seats in the legislature despite opposition charges that he had "sold" Cambodia to the U.S...