The United States is presenting Cambodia with a stark choice: stop cracking down on dissidents and resisting Chinese Communist Party influence, or the country could lose millions of dollars in aid funding.
The U.S. Congress on Monday passed a $1.4 trillion budget bill that includes conditional funding of at least $85 million for programs in the Southeast Asian country.
The 5,593-page bill states that U.S. aid will only be available if the U.S. secretary of state certifies that the government of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen stops cracking down on political opponents and critics and “maintains its sovereignty against interference by the People’s Republic of China (Communist Party of China).
The new requirements appear to apply only to funds to help the Cambodian government. Education, health care and democracy promotion programs – many run by nongovernmental organizations – are not included.
The conditions come after U.S. officials expressed concern that the Chinese Communist Party could build up military assets in Cambodia. Joel B. Vowell, deputy director for strategic plans and policy at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, had confirmed last year that Cambodia and the Communist Party were planning to establish a Communist naval base in Cambodia.
The focus of U.S. attention is the Ream Naval Base in Cambodia in the Gulf of Thailand. New satellite imagery shows further work being done at the base to prepare for expansion of the facility. A senior Navy official told the Nikkei Asian Review in October that the work is being funded by the Chinese Communist government.
Donald Emmerson, director of Southeast Asia studies at Stanford University’s Center for Asia-Pacific Studies, said it would be “extremely dangerous” if the Communist Party used the Yunlang base. The Wall Street Journal noted last July that the use of the base and airfield for military operations would increase territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Hun Sen and senior Chinese officials have repeatedly denied the existence of such a military base plan.
“Cambodia, the closest ally of the Chinese Communist Party in the region, has been accused of acting as a proxy for the Chinese Communist Party in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations over the disputed waters, Nikkei said.
The U.S. $1.4 trillion spending bill states that Cambodia must be able to prove that it is neutral on “dual-use facilities” such as the Yunlang naval base, other military facilities and the Dara Sakor development project.
The bill has been passed by a bipartisan U.S. Congress and is awaiting President Trump‘s signature.
The bill also states that Cambodia must “enhance regional security and stability” over territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
The budget bill allocates $300 million to the “Counter China (CCP) Influence Fund” to combat the “malign influence” of the CCP government, the CCP and “entities acting on their behalf” around the world. “. In Cambodia, the funds will be used for the Khmer Language Project to monitor and publicize the CCP’s attempts to expand its influence in Cambodia.
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