Relationship dossier
Australia
Cambodia
Relationship assessment
Development and migration cooperation coexist with Australian criticism of Cambodia's governance and human rights record.
Australia toward Cambodia
+30Australia has provided development assistance to Cambodia and reached a 2014 agreement for Cambodia to accept refugees transferred from Nauru. Australian criticism of Cambodian political and human-rights conditions has also been a source of friction.
Cambodia toward Australia
+15Cambodia agreed in 2014 to accept refugees transferred from Nauru under an agreement with Australia. This was a concrete but controversial instance of cooperation; the broader scope of Cambodia's policy cooperation with Australia is less clear.
Overall relationship
+25The relationship includes practical cooperation through Australian development assistance and the 2014 refugee agreement, but that agreement was narrow and controversial. Differences over Cambodia's political and human-rights conditions have tempered the broader cooperative relationship.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Australia and Cambodia have cooperated on development and migration, alongside persistent differences over governance and human rights. Australia has provided development assistance and concluded a 2014 agreement with Cambodia on relocating refugees from Nauru. Cambodia's implementation of that agreement was a concrete act of cooperation, though the arrangement was controversial and limited in scope.
Areas of tension
- Australian criticism of Cambodia's political conditions and human-rights record.
Key developments
Australia and Cambodia signed an agreement under which Cambodia would accept refugees transferred from Nauru.
Major uncertainties
- The extent and continuity of Australian development assistance across different periods are unclear.
- The implementation and lasting effects of the 2014 refugee relocation agreement are uncertain.