Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Composed in English by Richard Finney.
Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen on Thursday denied concern over foreign sanctions enforced against senior Cambodian authorities, including in the nations military, stating none of those approved officials hold properties in foreign banks.
Speaking at the groundbreaking event for a brand-new airport, the long-serving prime minister said that foreign sanctions will just lead Cambodians to invest more in their own nation, particularly in property.
” These sanctions are only political gestures,” Hun Sen said. “Do I even have any possessions overseas?
” I have absolutely nothing there, so they can sanction me and can freeze my possessions and take them if they like,” he stated.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs representative Kuy Koung slammed a U.S. arms embargo revealed Wednesday versus Cambodia due to issues over Chinese military impact in the country.
” Cambodia adheres to a principle of long-term neutrality and enjoys complete sovereignty and independence according to its constitution,” Kuy Koung said in a declaration to RFA. The new U.S. embargo disrupts Cambodias internal affairs, he stated.
” Cambodias constitution does not permit any foreign troops to be stationed on its soil, and we have actually currently repeated that there is no foreign military presence in Cambodia,” he stated.
U.S. officials have actually voiced alarm for more than 2 years now over the China-backed repair of Ream Naval Base, located outside Cambodias main port city of Sihanoukville.
The Wall Street Journal in 2019 reported that a secret treaty had actually been signed approving the Chinese Navy usage of the base for 30 years. The claim was rapidly knocked by the Cambodian government as “phony news,” however suspicions remain.
During a June see to Cambodia, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman warned her hosts that a Chinese base in Cambodia would adversely affect relations with the United States.
And in November, the Treasury and State Departments levied sanctions against two senior Cambodian military authorities, stating the pair had conspired to illegally benefit from the job at Ream.
The sanctions were revealed in conjunction with a Commerce Department advisory warning U.S. organizations of the “prospective direct exposure to entities in Cambodia, such as the Cambodian armed force, that engage in human rights abuses, corruption, and other destabilizing conduct.”
The arms embargo covers not simply conventional weapons, but also so-called “dual-use” equipment, which are products that might have both industrial and military or nationwide security applications.
U.S. arms makers have not generally exported to Cambodia, however the guidelines under which the embargo was announced apply also to non-U.S. business and people, offering the products being exported are either U.S. in origin or include U.S. innovation, products or elements.
Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Richard Finney.
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