U.S. Reboots Military Pacts, Crime Crackdown Stings, $800m Bet on Bokor
Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, June 7, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.
CRIME TIME: A recent crusade against street crime has police beaming: Arrests are up 30% from last year and an epidemic of theft, assault and drug crime is trending down. Already packed prisons are beyond swamped.
RIVAL DUO: China and the U.S. are sending new ambassadors to push their interests in the Kingdom. Beijing’s envoy is famous for anti-Western rhetoric. Washington’s nominee held posts in Taiwan and Vietnam. Game on.
ODD POD: Two natural wonders occurred in Kampot, where an infant Irrawaddy dolphin and mother were spotted swimming with a pod of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins — a grouping that has experts puzzled.
THE LEDE
Gift Giving
Cambodia is the new darling of Southeast Asian geo-politics.
On a short but significant visit, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin assured the Kingdom’s top brass that Washington wants to be friends again — no matter the tight bonds with China or democratic backsliding.
After a sit down with Hun Sen, the Strongman announced the two countries would restart annual military exercises and West Point, the prestigious military academy, would reinstate a suspended scholarship program — important initiatives canceled in the aftermath of the 2017 elections.
Will Cambodia give anything in return? The release of Theary Seng, the Cambodian-American lawyer and activists languishing in Prey Sar Prison, would make a good start.
Unclear Era
The United Nations has a long and complicated relationship with Cambodia going back to the UNTAC days of the 1990s. It's not getting any smoother.
Two U.N. agencies recently embarked on divergent paths in the Kingdom, exposing the global body's lofty intentions and its often dubious results.
UNESCO Cambodia issued a call to action for what it called an "unprecedented environmental emergency," listing climate change, biodiversity loss and the potential demise of the Tonle Sap water system.
The local UNDP branch, conversely, stands accused of promoting investment in companies tied to illegal logging and forced evictions, and of utilizing firms linked to child labor and trafficking.
For the UN and Cambodia, that’s how it goes. It’s complicated.
Duel Envoys
It's the Wolf Warrior versus the Banana Slug.
Beijing and Washington are sending new ambassadors to the Kingdom — and the envoys appear to be from different extremes of the political spectrum.
In the right corner, meet Wang Wenbin, 54, an ultra-hardliner who gained celebrity — and a cool nickname — in China for his bitter broadsides against the West. He called allegations of Uighur atrocities the "lie of the century."
Coming from the left, there's Robert W. Forden, a 64-year-old career diplomat with deep ties to Taiwan who studied at ultra-laidback UC Santa Cruz. If confirmed, he’s promised to advance rights and the rule of law.
Enjoy ringside seats as these two play rough or nice — or both — in the next chapter of Cambodian history.
TALKING POINTS
Closed Doors
Five Mother Nature activists charged with plotting to overthrow the government boycotted Wednesday’s court proceedings after authorities banned journalists and supporters from the trial. Ly Chandaravuth, one of 10 activists charged, accused the court of doing the CPP’s bidding. “Don’t claim you are independent,” he said, “if you won’t have a public trial.” The next hearing is Tuesday.
Times Past
Capital authorities will keep a close watch on Sunday’s gathering to commemorate the June 9, 1949, decision that ceded the Kampuchea Krom region of the Mekong Delta to Vietnam. Officials have restricted attendance to 300 and ordered speakers to refrain from remarks that might negatively impact bilateral relations.
Book Smart
Cambodia will invest nearly $80 million on modernizing the public school system. The money, part of a World Bank aid program, will expand school access to children in remote areas, improve teacher training and renovate classrooms with climate-resilient designs, among other improvements.
Sea Life
Local communities urged the government to designate the Kingdom’s largest island as a national marine park — a last ditch effort to protect Koh Kong Krao from illegal loggers and deep-pocketed investors with plans to turn the island into a special economic zone. With diverse aquatic life and more than 20% of the nation’s coral, the area is home to a growing ecotourism industry that locals want to protect.
Casino Ban
Hun Manet barred the approval of gaming licenses in Kep and Kampot, saying investors should focus on industries like tourism, agro-business and real estate. The area’s main gaming complex sits atop Bokor Mountain, where the Sokimex Group has invested more than $800 million.
Mixed Group
Conservationists in Kampot received a rare surprise: a newborn Irrawady dolphin and its mother swimming with a pod of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, in an exceptional display of cross-species camaraderie. Researchers had no explanation for the phenomenon and planned to investigate further.
Small Time
The Kingdom’s prison population jumped more than a full percentage point in May, as a monthslong clampdown targeting young men and drug crimes swept up hundreds of pretty criminals. Arrests were up one-third compared to the first half of 2023, said police officials, who vowed to stop a growing epidemic of thefts, property crimes and assaults.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
Khmer Krom Commemorates Loss of Territory
June 5, 2004
A planned march to the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh by some 2,000 supporters of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom community was called off Friday due to security concerns after a refusal by Phnom Penh Municipality to approve the demonstration.
Military Police: Soldier Shot Dead for Talking
June 1, 2004
Military Police and local villagers have implicated Pailin municipal police in the killing of an RCAF soldier who they allege was killed for providing military police with incriminating information against suspects with links to Pailin Governor Y Chhean.
Family Dynasties Grow Among Gov’t Elite
June 1, 2004
RCAF Lieutenant General Meas Sophea watched in silence as his 18-year-old daughter Sophie — a student at the elite Northbridge International School Cambodia and fledgling fashion designer — unveiled her work at a charity fashion show in Phnom Penh Saturday.
WEEKEND READING
Fishers left with no land, no fish, in fire sale of Cambodian coast
Coastal communities in Cambodia are facing a double threat, from land and sea, as developers evict them from their homes and farms, and trawlers encroach on their nearshore fishing grounds.
‘We were the Kula’: Cambodia’s missing Myanmar community
Tucked away in the mountains of western Cambodia are the remnants of a once-thriving Myanmar community known as the Kula, whose decline is a little-explored mystery involving gems, dreams and the Khmer Rouge.
Photos: Lloyd Austin, Flickr. Dolphins, Marine Conversation Cambodia.
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