WEST POINT GRADUATE
Cambodia’s long-ruling leader Hun Sen announced that he would hand over power to his son, Hun Manet, after elections held in 2023 in which his ruling Cambodian People’s Party ran virtually unopposed.
Hun Manet, 48, is a graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point. His ascension, followed by Trump’s involvement in the border dispute, has ushered in warmer ties between Washington and Phnom Penh, which had for years been moving closer to China.
Manet said relationships with China and the US were “not mutually exclusive” and said Cambodia had “nothing to hide” on the Ream naval base that was upgraded by China.
“As for Cambodia, to choose (a) relationship … China or US or US over China, is not our choice,” he said. “We are a sovereign country. We pursue the policy of friends with our countries.”
Past US administrations have pushed Cambodia to address issues of human rights and democracy before ties could improve.
Hun Manet said human rights in Cambodia had gotten a lot of attention but his country had maintained strong ties in other areas like security cooperation with Washington.
“Democracy is not just defined by political party expression, but health, education, freedom of press and others,” Manet said.
Reporters Without Borders last year ranked Cambodia 161 out of 180 countries in its World Press Freedom Index, citing detentions of journalists.
The US Treasury Department last year imposed sanctions on scores of people involved in running compounds in Cambodia from which massive amounts of fraud, including online romance scams, were perpetrated on people around the world.
Hun Manet said his government was cracking down on cyber scams and was drafting a law to tackle the issue, and argued online scams were not only a problem stemming from Cambodia.
“Yes, they exist. They have been existing. Does that mean that we allow them, we endorse them or we not do anything? No,” he said, citing efforts to deport people working at the scam centres and close the compounds.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/cambodia-prime-minister-hun-manet-thailand-occupy-territory-ceasefire-5937531
