US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R Sherman on June 1 met with Prime
Minister Hun Sen.
A State Department statement on Sherman’s meetings in Phnom Penh said she
also took issue with a naval base China is helping to fund and build near
where U.S.-built facilities had been demolished. “Deputy Secretary Sherman
expressed serious concerns about the PRC’s military presence and
construction of facilities at Ream Naval Base on the Gulf of Thailand,” said
a department spokesman. “She sought clarification on the demolition of two
U.S.-funded buildings at Ream without notification or explanation and
observed that a PRC military base in Cambodia would undermine its
sovereignty. threaten regional security, and negatively impact U.S.-Cambodia
relations,” the spokesman added. “She called on authorities to promptly drop
the politically motivated charges against members of the political
opposition, journalists, and activists” and “pressed the government to
reopen civic and political space in advance of the 2022 commune and 2023
national elections,” added the statement. Mr Hun Sen propose a discussion
on cancelling Cambodia’s Lon Nol-era debt, and US investments in the
Kingdom.
France will provide about $122 million to $146 million a year to support
development in Cambodia in the form of a concession loan for a six-year
period from 2021 to 2026, according to the Ministry of Economy.
<https://bit.ly/3wQgpeh> https://bit.ly/3wQgpeh;
The EU Delegation to Cambodia and World Health Organisation (WHO) have
demonstrated their joint commitment to assisting Cambodia with its Covid-19
response while helping the country prepare for future health security
threats by investing $3.5 million into a project spanning over three years.
China will help to modernise and expand Cambodia's largest naval base but
will not be the only country given access to the facility, Cambodian media
reported on Wednesday (Jun 2), quoting the country's defence minister.
<https://bit.ly/2TCl8C2> https://bit.ly/2TCl8C2;
Keut Rith, Minister of Justice, received Pauline Tamesis, President of the
United Nations Resident Coordinator in Cambodia, accompanied by a
representative of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR) and UNICEF representatives meet to discuss work related to resolving
prison overcrowding within the framework of the Capital-Provincial Court
Case Management Campaign and a number of issues related to the law on
measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and Infectious diseases and other
serious accidents.
