Sitting on trade routes that link China, India and Southeast Asia, Cambodia’s geopolitical importance far outweighs its land mass. Beijing has invested heavily in its neighbor, building key infrastructure projects like canals and ports. But with economic largesse has come increased political influence. Ignoring that would cede more power to the world’s second-largest economy in a region that is at risk of drifting away from Washington.
China continues to be the leading foreign investor in the kingdom. Former strongman leader Hun Sen has made no secret of his affection, famously declaring: “If I don’t rely on China, who will I rely on?” In 2023, his son Hun Manet took over as prime minster, and appears to be working from the same playbook, leaning heavily on Beijing to prop up the economy.
SunBom on October 28th, 2024 at 09:56 UTC »
Let the Vietnam handle that. US should stay out of it
tectonics2525 on October 28th, 2024 at 09:36 UTC »
Their solution is to lecture more? US should instead make an irresistible offer instead of playing this morality game when middle east is staring them like a giant black hole.
US will always fall behind china if they keep repeating playing the morality card. That card has expired ages ago. US needs to get serious with realpolitik.
telephonecompany on October 28th, 2024 at 08:42 UTC »
SS: Karishma Vaswani, a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asia with a special focus on China, argues that Cambodia’s increasing reliance on Beijing for economic and political support threatens U.S. influence in Southeast Asia. China’s investments, such as the $1.7 billion canal and military upgrades at the Ream Naval base, have positioned Cambodia as a near client state, aligning its foreign policy with China on key issues like Taiwan and the South China Sea. Vaswani highlights the erosion of Cambodia’s democratic institutions, exemplified by its poor Rule of Law ranking and the arrest of journalist Mech Dara (who has since been let out on bail as of 28 October 2024), which underscores the growing authoritarianism fostered by China’s influence. To prevent Cambodia from drifting further into China’s orbit, Vaswani suggests that Washington must strengthen its engagement by promoting civil society, human rights, and democracy in the region, despite global distractions like the war in Ukraine and Middle Eastern turmoil.