Southeast Asia: Those Sanctuaries

Few statesmen have proved themselves so adept at befuddling—and occasionally exasperating—the U.S. as Prince Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodia's head of state and Southeast Asia's most accomplished political juggler. The Prince's dervish foreign policy has earned him the almost automatic and somewhat derogatory appellation "mercurial." Yet Sihanouk maintains that there is method and consistency of purpose in his maneuvering: to ensure Cambodia's continued survival as an independent, neutral nation in stormy Southeast Asia. As he said recently: "Whether I swing toward the right or to the left is my concern, because I work only in the interests of my country."

Last week the...