MANILA, Philippines - Philippine officials say Cambodia's ambassador has failed to appear after being summoned to explain his scathing public criticism of Manila's stance on territorial disputes involving China in the South China Sea.
Cambodia and the Philippines have engaged in a war of words over how the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations, currently chaired by Cambodia, should deal with territorial conflicts involving China, the Philippines and four other Asian claimants.
The Philippines accuses Cambodia, a close ally of China, of being biased in favour of Beijing.
Cambodian Ambassador Hos Sereythonh said in published remarks Monday that the Philippines and Vietnam "wanted to sabotage and hijack" a recent ASEAN meeting to push their territorial claims against China.
Philippine diplomats say they summoned the Cambodian envoy Tuesday but he failed to show up.
