British Foreign Minister Begins 3-Nation Southeast Asian Trip
As part of the U.K.’s increasing focus “east of Suez,” Dominic Raab will make stops in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Singapore.
By Sebastian Strangio
June 22, 2021
Last night, British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab arrived in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi, the first stop on a three-nation tour of Southeast Asia designed to further the U.K.’s recent “Indo-Pacific tilt.”

Raab was scheduled to hold talks with Vietnamese officials and to speak at an event held by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), before flying on to Cambodia and Singapore.

“Just landed in #Vietnam at the start of a visit to South-East Asia visit to discuss the UK’s Indo-Pacific tilt,” Raab tweeted on arrival in Hanoi. He added that he was “looking forward to discussing trade, security and tackling challenges such as climate change, COVID-19 & serious organized crime.”

While a meeting with Cambodia’s Prime Minister HE was canceled after the leader was exposed to COVID-19 and entered quarantine as a precaution, Raab will meet with his counterpart Prak Sokhonn and other officials. He will also pay visits to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and Documentation Center of Cambodia, which researches the murderous 1975-79 rule of the Khmer Rouge.

In a statement, the Cambodian Foreign Ministry said it hoped the visit would strengthen bilateral ties, “and be another step forward in multilateral cooperation within the ASEAN framework.”
https://thediplomat.com/2021/06/british ... sian-trip/

UK foreign secretary urged to raise arrest of activists during Cambodia visit
Dominic Raab due to hold talks with Prak Sokhonn as part of efforts to expand diplomatic and trade ties in south-east Asia
Tue 22 Jun 2021 17.02 BST

Human rights groups have called on the British foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, to intervene over the detention of three young environmental activists when he meets Cambodian leaders on Wednesday in efforts to build trade ties between the two countries.

The activists, who were arrested at the weekend, face up to 10 years in jail for insulting the Cambodian king. Their case has been raised by environmental activist Greta Thunberg and NGO groups in the country.

Raab is due to meet the Cambodian foreign minister, Prak Sokhonn, to set out the UK’s bid for “Asean [Association of South-east Asian Nations] dialogue partnership” status before Cambodia takes up the chair of Asean next year. The UK is trying to expand its trade and security ties in south-east Asia in the wake of Brexit, but will also be pressing Asean to take a more interventionist stance on the crisis in Myanmar.

It is the first visit to Cambodia by a British foreign secretary for 30 years.

Ruos Sarat of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights told the Guardian: “We want the foreign secretary to use his diplomatic influence to say these young people should be praised and not silenced. Britain is the chair of the UN conference on climate change, and we hope the foreign secretary will defend those who are trying to defend the Earth’s climate. The three face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty of plotting, and up to five years in jail for royal insults. One of the four originally arrested has been released.”

The dilemma posed by the pressure from the rights groups is typical of the kind that the UK will face in the years ahead as it seeks to strengthen economic ties with countries that often do not match western values.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/ ... odia-visit

No quarantine?

Prick better have to quarantine, it was the Hungarian diplomats visit which caused the Govt to introduce the mandatory 14 day monitored quarantine.

UK foreign secretary urged to raise arrest of activists during Cambodia visit

You mean "to free" like Julian Assange?

PSD-Kiwi wrote: ↑Wed Jun 23, 2021 10:42 am Prick better have to quarantine, it was the Hungarian diplomats visit which caused the Govt to introduce the mandatory 14 day monitored quarantine.

Did you say the same thing for the Chinese foreign minister last year? Or have you finally adjusted to Uncle Xi

BillDoe wrote: ↑Wed Jun 23, 2021 11:19 am

PSD-Kiwi wrote: ↑Wed Jun 23, 2021 10:42 am Prick better have to quarantine, it was the Hungarian diplomats visit which caused the Govt to introduce the mandatory 14 day monitored quarantine.

Did you say the same thing for the Chinese foreign minister last year? Or have you finally adjusted to Uncle Xi

Missed that visit.

Appears the UK Foreign Minister isn't undergoing quarantine, has been in face to face meetings with Govt officials already according to the PPP.

Reminds me of this