Following Julian Assange 12 months ago, intelligence whistle-blower Edward Snowden has appealed to the tiny South American country of Ecuador for political asylum.

Snowden appears well on his way from hiding in Hong Kong to the Ecuadorian capital city of Quito by way of Russia and Cuba.

His stealthy departure from Hong Kong caught American officials flat-footed and will undoubtedly aggravate already prickly diplomatic relations between China and the U.S.

Snowden faces charges in the U.S. for revealing an NSA data-collection program that secretly gathers information on the phone calls and Internet communications of Americans, as well as apparently tens of millions of non-Americans.

One reason Snowden turned to Ecuador is Assange. The WikiLeaks founder has a good working relationship with Ecuador and met with Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino personally in mid-June. Patino said Ecuador was prepared to allow Assange a place at its chancery in London indefinitely.

From the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, Assange said that he welcomed news of Snowden’s request for political asylum in Ecuador, according to local media on Monday morning. WikiLeaks lawyers reportedly accompanied Snowden as he traveled to Moscow where he was met by Ecuadorian diplomats.

For its part, Ecuador appears to relish its new role as a safe haven for people who spill American secrets.

During his five-day visit to South Korea last week to bolster bilateral trade ties, Patino said that he believed there were at least two reasons why Assange chose his nation for human rights protection.

“Ecuador is a principled nation. It has an obligation to protect his life, as well as his personal integrity against attacks,” said Patino. “Ecuador is a country that values these fundamental principles.”

“The second reason is that Ecuador is a sovereign country and it acts on its sovereignty,” Patino said in an interview with The Korea Herald on June 20 in a hotel in Seoul.

Patino is now in Vietnam on his second leg of a multi-stop Asia tour, during which he is expected to address Snowden’s request for political asylum in a press conference at 7 p.m. Vietnam time, complete with satellite link-ups, according to the Ecuadorian Embassy in Seoul.

“The situation is still dynamic and the foreign minister is actively working to address this situation,” said Ecuadorian Ambassador to Korea Nicolas Trujillo, adding that Snowden’s request for asylum “will be considered.”

By Philip Iglauer (ephilip2011@heraldcorp.com)