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US tightens curbs as Cambodia moves closer into China’s embrace
The United States has announced new restrictions on Cambodia, including an arms embargo, citing the “growing influence” of the Chinese military, as well as corruption and human rights abuses.
The State Department imposed an arms embargo while the Commerce Department announced new trade restrictions on military and dual-use items that may be used for civilian or military purposes, on December 8.
“Commerce has placed new restrictions, including end-use and end-user restrictions, on exports and reexports to Cambodia, and in-country transfers within Cambodia, of sensitive items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR),” the department said in a statement.
Peter Kucik, a sanctions expert, says this means even third countries now cannot sell certain products they have purchased from the US to Cambodia. “Even if you’re not a US entity you could violate US law by selling something on,” he said, adding that the EAR restrictions also apply to “dual-use” technology.
“Hypothetically, a device that could have a perfectly civilian use, but could also have a military purpose, would be restricted because if it’s used by the wrong party, it could be used for military purposes,” he explained.
The US has long been concerned with a possible Chinese military presence in Cambodia, first questioning developments in Koh Kong, and then at Ream Naval Base in neighbouring Preah Sihanouk province.
In 2020, US-funded structures at the Ream base were demolished and the Wall Street Journal reported a secret agreement to allow China use of the base for 30 years, which Cambodia has denied.
In June, Cambodia’s defence minister Tea Banh confirmed that China was helping with infrastructure at the base in an interview with government-linked Fresh News.
“We want to develop a suitable place … Cambodia alone can’t do it. It is moderately costly as well, but I don’t know how much,” Voice of America (VOA) quoted him as saying in the interview. “They [China] are helping with no strings attached.”
The US defence attache visited shortly afterwards and walked out of a tour of the base, claiming he was not granted “full access”.
Prime Minister Hun Sen has dismissed the recent developments as “only political gestures”, that will have no real influence, while his foreign affairs spokesman again denied reports of foreign military presence in Cambodia in a statement to Radio Free Asia.
But Kucik says the trade restrictions could have a real, immediate effect in terms of discouraging even non-US entities from doing business with the Cambodian government.
“It may be a stretch that violators get hauled into US court, but people do get extradited from all over the world to the US, so it’s not intangible, there is a real risk. More realistically, and more fundamentally, you might kill your entire business model. If you break US law, you’re never going to get anything from the US again and US firms would be on notice that you’re off-limits,” he said.
www.aljazeera.com
_______________________________________
The Obama/Biden era's "pivot to Asia" of having ASEAN countries helping to encircle China has failed, so now that the carrot approach has failed they decided to use the stick approach with ASEAN countries, the US is trying to make an example out of Cambodia to other ASEAN members by saying "if you don't help us encircle China then we will impose sanctions on you".
The United States has announced new restrictions on Cambodia, including an arms embargo, citing the “growing influence” of the Chinese military, as well as corruption and human rights abuses.
The State Department imposed an arms embargo while the Commerce Department announced new trade restrictions on military and dual-use items that may be used for civilian or military purposes, on December 8.
“Commerce has placed new restrictions, including end-use and end-user restrictions, on exports and reexports to Cambodia, and in-country transfers within Cambodia, of sensitive items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR),” the department said in a statement.
Peter Kucik, a sanctions expert, says this means even third countries now cannot sell certain products they have purchased from the US to Cambodia. “Even if you’re not a US entity you could violate US law by selling something on,” he said, adding that the EAR restrictions also apply to “dual-use” technology.
“Hypothetically, a device that could have a perfectly civilian use, but could also have a military purpose, would be restricted because if it’s used by the wrong party, it could be used for military purposes,” he explained.
The US has long been concerned with a possible Chinese military presence in Cambodia, first questioning developments in Koh Kong, and then at Ream Naval Base in neighbouring Preah Sihanouk province.
In 2020, US-funded structures at the Ream base were demolished and the Wall Street Journal reported a secret agreement to allow China use of the base for 30 years, which Cambodia has denied.
In June, Cambodia’s defence minister Tea Banh confirmed that China was helping with infrastructure at the base in an interview with government-linked Fresh News.
“We want to develop a suitable place … Cambodia alone can’t do it. It is moderately costly as well, but I don’t know how much,” Voice of America (VOA) quoted him as saying in the interview. “They [China] are helping with no strings attached.”
The US defence attache visited shortly afterwards and walked out of a tour of the base, claiming he was not granted “full access”.
Prime Minister Hun Sen has dismissed the recent developments as “only political gestures”, that will have no real influence, while his foreign affairs spokesman again denied reports of foreign military presence in Cambodia in a statement to Radio Free Asia.
But Kucik says the trade restrictions could have a real, immediate effect in terms of discouraging even non-US entities from doing business with the Cambodian government.
“It may be a stretch that violators get hauled into US court, but people do get extradited from all over the world to the US, so it’s not intangible, there is a real risk. More realistically, and more fundamentally, you might kill your entire business model. If you break US law, you’re never going to get anything from the US again and US firms would be on notice that you’re off-limits,” he said.
US tightens curbs as Cambodia moves closer into China’s embrace
New sanctions, including an arms embargo, imposed amid concern about China’s influence and effects on the wider region.
_______________________________________
The Obama/Biden era's "pivot to Asia" of having ASEAN countries helping to encircle China has failed, so now that the carrot approach has failed they decided to use the stick approach with ASEAN countries, the US is trying to make an example out of Cambodia to other ASEAN members by saying "if you don't help us encircle China then we will impose sanctions on you".
