The Southeast Asian regional bloc, the aseanwon this Saturday a new surprise member from the other side of the world, at least for a moment, thanks to a slip of the tongue from the US president Joe Biden.
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“I want to thank the prime minister for Colombia’s leadership as president of ASEAN,” Biden said at the start of talks with regional leaders in Phnom Penh, chaired by the Cambodian prime minister. Hun Sen.
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Colombia seems to be on the mind of the US president, because he made the same mistake leaving the White House for his long trip to Asia.
Biden told reporters that he was “heading to Colombia,” before quickly correcting himself and saying “I mean Cambodia.”
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The current president of the United States, who turns 80 this month, is known for his numerous blunders during much of his long career in Washington.
Biden, in remarks at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, thanks “the prime minister for Colombia” for his “leadership as ASEAN chair.”
The ASEAN chair is the prime minister of Cambodia. pic.twitter.com/1vJDGP9ljI
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 12, 2022
The US president on Saturday urged Cambodia to release the Cambodian activist Theary Sengrecently sentenced to six years in prison for treason.
Biden touched on Seng’s case during talks with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen during an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Phnom Penh.
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According to a White House statement released after these interviews, Biden “called for the release of politically detained militants,” including Theary Seng.
Seng, detained in a prison in Preah Vihear in the north of the country, began a seven-day hunger strike on Monday to protest against her detention conditions.
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The lawyer and activist, a longtime critic of Hun Sen, the country’s strongman since 1985, hopes to force authorities to transfer her to Prey Sar prison in the capital.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With information from AFP
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