RESEARCH BINDER #2 “SOUTH CHINA SEA: ADDRESSING THE TERRITORIAL DISPUTES AND UPHOLDING INTERNATIONAL MARITIME LAW” Country General: - Conventional long form: Kingdom of Cambodia - Conventional short form: Cambodia - Government type: Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy - Capital: Phnom Penh - Independence: 9 November 1953 (From France) - Real GDP: $116.576 Billion (as per 2023) - Population: 17,063,669 Background: - Most Cambodians consider themselves to be Khmers, descendants of the Angkor Empire that extended over much of Southeast Asia and reached its zenith between the 10th and 13th centuries. - Attacks by the Thai and Cham (from present-day Vietnam) weakened the empire, ushering in a long period of decline. - The king placed the country under French protection in 1863, and it became part of French Indochina in 1887. - Following Japanese occupation in World War II, Cambodia gained full independence from France in 1953. - In 1975, after a seven-year struggle, communist Khmer Rouge forces captured Phnom Penh and evacuated all cities and towns. - At least 1.5 million Cambodians died from execution, forced hardships, or starvation during the Khmer Rouge regime under POL POT. - A 1978 Vietnamese invasion drove the Khmer Rouge into the countryside, began a 10-year Vietnamese occupation, and touched off 13 years of internecine warfare in which a coalition of: Khmer Rouge, Cambodian nationalists, and royalist insurgents, with assistance from China, fought the Vietnamese-backed People’s Republic of Kampuchea (PRK). - The 1991 Paris Agreements ended the country’s civil war and mandated democratic elections, which took place in 1993 and ushered in a period of multi-party democracy with a constitutional monarchy. - King Norodom SIHANOUK was reinstated as head of state, and the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) and the royalist FUNCINPEC party formed a coalition government. - Nevertheless, the power-sharing arrangement proved fractious and fragile, and in 1997, a coup led by CPP leader and former PRK prime minister HUN SEN dissolved the coalition and sidelined FUNCINPEC. - Despite further attempts at coalition governance, the CPP has since remained in power through elections criticized for lacking fairness, political and judicial corruption, media control, and influence over labor unions, all of which have been enforced with violence and intimidation. - HUN SEN remained as prime minister until 2023, when he transferred power to his son, HUN MANET. - HUN SEN has subsequently maintained considerable influence as the leader of the CPP and the Senate. The CPP has also placed limits on civil society, press freedom, and freedom of expression. - Despite some economic growth and considerable investment from China over the past decade, Cambodia remains one of East Asia's poorest countries. - The remaining elements of the Khmer Rouge surrendered in 1999. A UN-backed special tribunal established in Cambodia in 1997 tried some of the surviving Khmer Rouge leaders for crimes against humanity and genocide. The tribunal concluded in 2022 with three convictions. - During the Khmer Rouge regime between 1975 and 1979 as many as 1.5 to 2 million people are estimated to have been killed or died as a result of starvation, disease, or overwork – a loss of about 25% of the population. Cambodia-US Relations: - President Biden’s participation in the annual U.S.-ASEAN Summit and East Asia Summit (EAS) will take place November 12-13 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the 2022 ASEAN Chair. - In 1950, the United States was among the first nations to recognize Cambodia, and our two peoples share an enduring friendship. - The United States values cooperation with Cambodia on a range of issues, including condemnation of Russia’s war against Ukraine, implementation of UN Security Council sanctions, including sanctions on the DPRK, law enforcement cooperation to combat transnational crime, and Cambodia’s support for elevating the U.S.-ASEAN relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. - We continue to underscore to Cambodia that strengthening our bilateral relationship will depend upon Phnom Penh taking concrete steps to improve respect for human rights and democratic processes and address widespread concerns about the PRC’s military presence at Ream Naval Base. - U.S.-Cambodia relations are based on strong historical and cultural linkages. Cooperation on UN matters and assistance programs helped Cambodia realize the stability and prosperity envisioned in the 1992 Paris Peace Agreements ending civil war and continue to facilitate collaboration on bilateral, regional, and global issues. - The United States supports Cambodia’s role as ASEAN 2022 Chair and lauds its stance in upholding the UN Charter, defending territorial integrity, and co-sponsoring UN resolutions condemning Russia’s February full-scale invasion of Ukraine and attempt to annex Ukrainian territory. - The United States urges Cambodia to uphold its constitution and prohibit exclusive control of its territory by any foreign country, including at Ream Naval Base. - The United States is committed to the Cambodian people and their aspirations for a prosperous, democratic, and independent country. - We urge Cambodia to take meaningful steps to reopen political and civic space, including by resolving opposition leader Kem Sokha’s prolonged trial, and releasing other detained political and civil society activists, including U.S.-Cambodian citizen Seng Theary. - With U.S. support, Cambodia has experienced decades of robust economic growth and made significant progress toward achieving its Sustainable Development Goals, including by reducing poverty, addressing the remnants of past conflicts, and successfully navigating the global pandemic. - Over the last 30 years, the United States has provided $3 billion in foreign assistance for health, education, food security, economic growth, national reconciliation, democracy and human rights, the environment, and clearance of unexploded ordnance and landmines. - The United States has also supported child nutrition and literacy; promoted international labor standards and conditions; and provided training for child protection, UN Security Council sanctions implementation, notably on the DPRK sanctions regime, anti-money laundering, and countering trafficking in persons. - Public health assistance in Cambodia has addressed infant and maternal mortality, malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS, and strengthened health systems. Successful U.S. cooperation has enabled zero malaria deaths since 2017, the removal of Cambodia from the World Health Organization’s list of top 30 tuberculosis burden countries, and HIV epidemic control with general adult population prevalence of just 0.6 percent. - U.S. agencies—including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. Navy, and Department of State—helped Cambodia stay healthy through the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for future outbreaks by building workforce capacity, establishing surveillance, providing technical assistance, and contributing more than $15 million in supplemental emergency aid and three million safe and effective vaccine doses donated in partnership with COVAX. - Cambodia has made longstanding efforts to provide a full accounting of American personnel missing from the Vietnam War era. We also recognize with appreciation that Cambodia allowed the cruise ship MS Westerdam to disembark at the onset of the 2020 global pandemic, providing safe haven for over 1,200 passengers and crew. (kh.usembassy.gov) - The United States government yesterday imposed an arms embargo on Cambodia, citing long-standing concerns about human rights, corruption, and China’s growing influence in the country. According to a statement from the Commerce Department, the move will “restrict” access to “dual-use items,” “less-sensitive military items,” and “defense articles and defense services” by Cambodia’s military and intelligence agencies. - “The United independence States and remains the fully sovereignty committed of to Cambodia’s its people,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in the statement. “We urge the Cambodian government to make meaningful progress in addressing corruption and human rights abuses, and to work to reduce the influence of the PRC military in Cambodia, which threatens regional and global security.” - This doesn’t mean a lot – the U.S. is not currently a supplier of arms to Cambodia – but it marks the latest in long list of measures designed to sanction Phnom Penh over its political repression and increasingly close relationship with China. In particular, Washington has become alarmed by the Chinese-funded refurbishment of the Ream Naval Base on Cambodia’s south coast, which it fears will pave the way for a permanent Chinese military presence on Cambodian soil. The Cambodian government denies the claim. - In its incipient pressure campaign aimed at reversing Cambodia’s pivot to China, the U.S. has sanctioned five high-ranking Cambodian military commanders and a timber tycoon – all close associates of Prime Minister Hun Sen – over the fierce crackdown of the past five years, which has seen the main opposition party banned and Cambodian civil society forced into a state of siege. The most recent officials to be sanctioned were Cambodian navy chief Admiral Tea Vinh, the brother of Defense Minister Tea Banh, and General Chau Phirun, director general of the Defense Ministry’s Material and Technical Services Department. The U.S. claims both men are conspiring to profit from the upgrades to Ream Naval Base. - The sanctions against Tea Vinh and Chau Phirun, announced last month, were also accompanied by a warning from the State Department against U.S. businesses investing in Cambodia, due to the country’s endemic corruption and the risk of possible involvement with entities involved in human rights abuses, trafficking, and the drug trade. These moves have taken place against a backdrop of congressional resolutions calling for the government to increase its pressure against the Cambodian government further. - The arms embargo came as the news broke that State Department Counselor Derek Chollet would pay a visit to Cambodia this week, in addition to Indonesia. While in Phnom Penh, Chollet “will discuss Cambodia’s upcoming chairmanship of ASEAN,” the State Department announced, with the implication that he will seek to engage with the Cambodian government over the controversial approach it plans to take as ASEAN chair toward the situation in Myanmar, as well as addressing other issues of regional import. How receptive the Cambodians will be to his views will no doubt hinge on how vocally he chooses to “reinforce U.S. support for civil society and the Cambodian people,” the other focus mentioned in the State Department’s statement about Chollet’s trip. - Herein lies the primary point of tension in Cambodia-U.S. relations. As I’ve written in these pages previously, one of the reasons that Hun Sen and his government have moved so close to China is precisely because of Western pressure over democracy and human rights issues, which they have long perceived as an attempt to undermine the power of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party. The logical implication is that any attempt to punish the Cambodian government will only further harden its intransigence and deepen its relationship on Beijing. - In October, Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian said that the two nations were bound by an “ironclad brotherhood,” and in a clear reference to the U.S. and other Western governments, said they would “tolerate no interference from external forces.” Similarly, Cambodia dismissed last month’s sanctions as “politically motivated,” while Hun Sen today told the U.S. government to go ahead and freeze the U.S.-based assets of Cambodian officials, stating that none had their assets there anyway. - The greatest leverage that Washington has over Phnom Penh – and the one threat that might shift Hun Sen’s calculus – is the possible revocation of the trade preferences that Cambodia enjoys under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), which smooth its access to the U.S. market, the largest for Cambodian-made clothes, footwear, bags, and travel products. - However, the revocation of the GSP would likely to harm the country’s garment and apparel manufacturing sector, potentially costing many thousands of jobs. It was for similar reasons that the European Union, in reaction to the CPP government’s recent harsh political crackdown, chose to suspend trade preferences on just a portion of Cambodia’s exports to the European market. - Anthony Nelson, a senior director for East Asia and the Pacific at international consultancy Albright Stonebridge Group, told the South China Morning Post recently that it was “very unlikely” that the Cambodian government would take enough steps to mollify its critics in Washington. At the same time, he said, U.S. policymakers recognized that the “understand a revocation of GSP would hurt vulnerable workers first, so perhaps some face-saving loosening of the political space can be found.” - Even if that were true, it would still leave the fundamental issues in Cambodia-U.S. relations unresolved. Given the recent hardening of attitudes on both sides, progress now requires one of two things: either for the U.S. to compromise on values – to soften its human rights advocacy – or for the Cambodian government to compromise on domestic politics: to introduce significant political reforms. - Neither of these looks likely at the present juncture, ensuring that the spiral of mutual incomprehension that has marked recent relations between Washington and Phnom Penh will continue for the foreseeable future. (Diplomat) Recent years: - Cambodia has moved to become Beijing's closest partner in Southeast Asia. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet visited Beijing in September, weeks after he was sworn in as the country's new premier. - At same time, US and Cambodian ties continue to sour, with Washington pointing out Cambodia's poor human rights record, and a crackdown on political parties and dissidents. - US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will look to smooth relations when he visits Cambodia on June 4 after attending the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. Austin is also meeting Chinese officials as part of the talks. - "US Defense Secretary Austin will soon be in Cambodia to greet Hun Manet, but like much of Biden's foreign policy in Southeast Asia, he will be on the back foot," Cogan said. - "Austin's visit has to mix the pragmatic with the normative, as the tough line on human rights have pushed Cambodia closer to China, and the advantage that has given Beijing can be seen across the country," he added. - China is already Cambodia's top trading partner and biggest foreign investor. And it shows, with new public and private infrastructure funded by Beijing, including both roads, airports, hotels and high-rises. - Cambodia is also part of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a global infrastructure funding project. - Oren Samet, a PhD candidate at the University of California researching authoritarianism in Southeast Asia, said Beijing's support does not come along with the scrutiny and criticism of Cambodia's governance that is seen in Western countries. - "The close relationship with Beijing is the product of longer-term shifts, which have cemented China as the Cambodian People Party's (CPP) main international patron," said Samet. - "In contrast with traditional Western donors, Beijing does not care at all about Cambodia's human rights abuses or lack of democracy, and that works well for the Cambodian government, which has more free reign to suppress opposition and avoid difficult reforms," he told DW. - Samet said it will be a challenge for Washington and Phnom Penh to "repair frayed relations and strengthen strategic ties after a difficult few years." - "Democratic deficits and rights concerns will remain stumbling blocks. Cambodia hasn't improved on this front at all in the past decade, and it is unlikely to do so in the near future," he added. - Critics call Cambodia's leadership the "Hun-Dynasty." The ruling CPP has faced little challenge to its power, with opposition parties being suppressed in recent years. - Critics say Hun Sen, who led Cambodia for nearly four decades, from 1985 to 2023, ran Cambodia like a dictatorship, cracking down on both political rivals and free independent media, as well as opposing free and fair elections. - Cambodia ranks second-to-last, 141 out of 142, in The World Justice Project's global rankings for 2023. The rankings are based on several indicators including human rights, social justice and the economy. - Cambodia and China have both described their relations as "ironclad," with official ties stretching back to 1958. - Manet pledged stronger ties with Beijing on his first overseas visit as Prime Minister in September, and said he hoped for closer cooperation with China on international and regional issues. - "I am skeptical that things will change much under Hun Manet. Despite being superficially more Western-oriented than his father, he presides over what is fundamentally the same regime as before," said Samet. - Beijing's influence in Cambodia is also seen in forums like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a 10-member political and economic union, of which China is not a member, but is a "comprehensive" strategic partner. - Cambodia often stands in support of China's regional goals, which include political ambitions like claiming ownership over much of the South China Sea. - The Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam, all ASEAN members, strongly dispute these maritime claims, but with Cambodia on the side of Beijing, the country has become a leverage point for China. - "Competition and conflict over the South China Sea have driven further sclerosis within ASEAN," said Samet. - "Beijing is making its influence felt across the region, but Cambodia has been particularly strongly impacted," Samet added Problems: 1. Corruption: The level of corruption in Cambodia exceeds most countries in the world. Despite adopting an 'Anti-Corruption Law' in 2010, corruption prevails throughout the country. Corruption affects the judiciary, the police, and other state institutions. Favouritism by government officials and impunity is commonplace. Lack of a clear distinction between the courts and the executive branch of government also makes for a deep politicisation of the judicial system. 2. Lack of free speech: Journalists covering a protest over disputed election results in Phnom Penh on 22 September 2013 say they were deliberately attacked by police and men in plain clothes, with slingshots and stun guns. The attack against the president of the Overseas Press Club of Cambodia, Rick Valenzuela, was captured on video. The violence came amid political tensions as the opposition boycotted the opening of Parliament due to concerns about electoral fraud. Seven reporters sustained minor injuries while at least two Cambodian protesters were hit by slingshot projectiles and hospitalised. 3. Oppression and Violence: ● The Cambodian People's Party (CPP) is the sole dominant-party in Cambodia. The CPP currently commands 120 of the 125 seats in the National Assembly and 55 of 62 seats in the Senate. ● Hun Sen and his government have seen much controversy. Hun Sen was a former Khmer Rouge commander who was originally installed by the Vietnamese and, after the Vietnamese left the country, maintained his strong man position by violence and oppression when deemed necessary. ● In 1997, fearing the growing power of his co-prime minister, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, Hun launched a coup, using the army to purge Ranariddh and his supporters. Ranariddh was ousted and fled to Paris while other opponents of Hun Sen were arrested, tortured, and some summarily executed. 4. Human Rights Violation: ● A US State Department report says "forces under Hun Sen and the Cambodian People's Party have committed frequent and large-scale abuses, including extrajudicial killings and torture, with impunity".[160] According to the 2016 Global Slavery Index, an estimated 256,800 people are enslaved in modern-day Cambodia, or 1.65% of the population. ● Forced land evictions by senior officials, security forces, and government-connected business leaders are commonplace in Cambodia.[162] Land has been confiscated from hundreds of thousands of Cambodians over more than a decade for the purpose of self-enrichment and maintaining power of various groups of special interests.[163] Credible non-governmental organisations estimate that "770,000 people have been adversely affected by land grabbing covering at least four million hectares (nearly 10 million acres) of land that have been confiscated", says Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).
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