Misplaced Outrage: Honesty, Responsibility and Professionalism in International Affairs

What is responsibility, honesty, and professionalism in international affairs? Is it responsible for a country to militarily occupy its neighbour's territory in apparent violation of a ceasefire agreement? Is it a mark of professionalism for one country to displace the citizens of a neighbouring country and cause immeasurable suffering to communities as a circumstance of international diplomacy? Is it a mark of honesty and integrity to claim a neighbour's borders are in dispute, when the international community and international courts of law have recognised these borders for decades? Is it honest and responsible for a country to claim the unfairness of borders that have existed for centuries? The Thai ambassador to France, Nikorndej Balankura, expressed outrage over a recent report that he (and perhaps other Thai officials) attempted to influence Cambodia's engagement with other countries to avoid the internationalisation of the border conflict and called out the falsity of these media allegations, citing the principles of honesty, responsibility, professionalism and the importance of speaking the truth in these matters. Whether he is more or less correct in his rebuttal to the article is not the greater issue at stake here. The greater issue is how does one qualify honesty, responsibility, professionalism and speaking the truth in international affairs when the military of one country is occupying its neighbour's territory. Principles of responsibility, honesty and professionalism are not confined to just individual members of the international community — they are principles that govern the behaviour of nation states of the international community, and this entire border conflict is a testament to the breakdown of these principles. Accordingly, the Thai ambassador's outrage appears misplaced. Youk Chhang is director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam). The views and opinions expressed are his own.