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PHNOM PENH, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Sunday confirmed its first case of the Zika virus since 2016, the country's Ministry of Health (MoH) said in a press statement. The patient, a seven-year-old girl from central Kampong Thom province, was admitted to Baray Santuk Referral Hospital on Monday suspected of having dengue fever. The test result confirmed on Thursday that she was positive for Zika virus, the statement said.
Zika is a flavivirus that is transmitted predominantly by the Aedes species of mosquito, but also through sexual contact, blood transfusions, and congenitally from mother to child, the statement said. Symptoms of Zika include fever, headache, rash, red eyes, and joint pain, it said, adding that most of the patients recover within two to seven days, as the "fatal rate is very low."
"However, if the virus is transmitted to pregnant women, it can lead to the death of babies in the wombs," it said. The MoH called on the people, particularly pregnant women, to be vigilant and prevent themselves from being bitten by Aedes mosquitoes and to see doctors when they have symptoms of the infection.
https://english.news.cn/20230924/2291e34ff89b43a0b0b6b89983dfef27/c.html
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The United States has reversed its decision to suspend $18 million in assistance to Cambodia through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) following this year’s National Election when Washington had considered the election unfair and lacked transparency.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation released a statement on Saturday that “The United States had decided to resume the $18 million in assistance extended to Cambodia through USAID that was stopped following this year’s General Election.”
The announcement was made during Prime Minister Hun Manet’s meeting with Victoria Nuland, United States Acting Deputy Secretary of State, on the sidelines of the 78th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York on Friday. Nuland warmly welcomed Mr Hun Manet to the United Nations (UN) in New York and congratulated him on his nomination as Prime Minister for the seventh mandate of the National Assembly.
read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501365606/us-reverses-decision-on-suspension-of-18mil-aid-money/
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China attaches great importance to its special friendship with the Cambodian royal family, highly values the development of China-Cambodia relations and is willing to work with the Cambodian side to push forward the building of a China-Cambodia community with a shared future to a deeper and more practical extent, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Saturday.
Xi made the remarks during his meeting with the King of Cambodia Norodom Sihamoni on Saturday morning. The king is in China to attend the opening ceremony of the 19 Asian Games in Hangzhou, capital city of East China's Zhejiang Province.
The frequent high-level exchanges between China and Cambodia, marked by the recent China visits by the King of Cambodia himself and the newly elected Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, embody the ironclad friendship between the two neighboring countries, Chinese analysts hailed on Saturday.
read more https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202309/1298750.shtml
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A woman, who was arrested this week for the brutal murder of a fortune-teller in Phnom Penh, has hung herself in a police detention centre. Nuon Kheng, a 51-year-old female resident of Chrey Tnaot village, commune. Nheng Nheng, Tram Kak district, Takeo province was arrested in accordance with an arrest warrant issued by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on September 15, 2023 in Peal Nhek 2 Village, Sangkat Phteah Prey, Pursat City, Pursat Province.
She was detained in connection with the death of a fortune teller on July 22, 2023 in a room at a Guesthouse, located on Street 84 Corner of Preah Monivong Street in Srah Chak Sangkat, Daun Penh District, Phnom Penh. The woman allegedly killed the fortune teller by suffocating her with a pillow and then stole jewellery, before fleeing. The woman then hung herself in a cell at the Daun Penh District Inspectorate in Phnom Penh.
After the authorities checked, they found out that the woman had actually committed suicide. After the inspection, the authorities also handed over the body to the family to take to the traditional ceremony.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501364941/witch-killer-hangs-herself-in-jail/
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A month after he succeeded his father as Cambodia’s prime minister in the wake of the country’s latest election without an opposition, Hun Manet falsely told the U.N. General Assembly on Friday that the July 23 ballot was “free and fair” and “credible and just.”
Hun Sen handed power to his son after claiming victory in an election in which he banned the last remaining opposition party, the Candlelight Party, and threatened prison time and disenfranchisement for any Cambodians who joined the party’s efforts to boycott the vote.
His ruling Cambodian People’s Party, which has been in power since 1979, won 120 of the 125 available seats – a five-seat drop from 2018, with those seats going to its longtime coalition partner Funcinpec.
Speaking before the U.N. General Assembly in English, Hun Manet said it was his “great pleasure” to address the chamber “as the new prime minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia,” and lauded the election.
“Over 8.2 million people cast their ballots, a turnout rate of 84.59%,” he said, pointing to the participation of 18 minor parties as evidence of fairness. “This is the highest turnout since the U.N.-supervised election in 1993, and a clear indication of our people's greater political maturity and enthusiasm in exercising their democratic rights.”
“The election has been widely assessed as free and fair, credible and just, by thousands of observers,” he said.
The United States and European Union declined to send observers due to concerns about the election’s integrity.
Hun Manet also appeared to address U.S. claims and satellite imagery that appears to show China building a military base in the port city of Sihanoukville, which his father has also repeatedly denied.
The new premier declined to mention the banning of the opposition and his father’s threats of imprisonment. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters) “Cambodia shall not authorize any foreign military base on this territory, as clearly stated in its constitution,” he said. “Cambodia will continue on its present path of independence and a neutral foreign policy.”
Hun Manet became Cambodia’s new premier on Aug. 22, after 38 years of rule by his father, who rose to power in 1985 under the communist regime installed by Vietnam after its ouster of Pol Pot.
Hun Sen long ruled with an iron fist, banning the resurgent Cambodia National Rescue Party shortly before the 2018 election and jailing its leader after the party threatened to win even a flawed election. Some members of the CNRP then reassembled into the Candlelight Party to contest this year’s election, before that party, too, was banned.
Hun Manet’s government has appeared no more eager for friendly competition, and has refused to give the party official registration documents it would need to contest in any future elections.
Change, or no change?
Outside the U.N. building on Friday, Cambodian-Americans and former opposition party leaders protested Hun Manet’s appearance, calling for his government to be stripped of Cambodia’s U.N. seat.
Former CNRP lawmakers including Ho Vann, Kong Saphea, Eng Chhay Eang and Mu Sochua – all of whom face lengthy prison sentences if they return to Cambodia – were in attendance, and the protesters reprised popular chants from the party’s post-2013 election mass protests, including the rhetorical “Change, or no change?”
Sochua, who also served as Cambodia’s minister for women’s affairs from 1998 to 2004, told Radio Free Asia she thought Hun Manet would not be able to completely quieten the sense of shame about how he took power, unable to campaign, on his own, in a free election.
“I don’t think that he sits in that seat comfortably,” Mu Sochua said of Cambodia’s U.N. seat. “Hun Manet is not a free man.”
Former CNRP lawmaker Mu Sochua [right], who faces a lengthy prison sentence if she returns to Cambodia, says she believes Hun Manet would not be able to completely quieten the sense of shame about how he took power. She protested Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Manet’s appearance at the United Nations in New York City, Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. (Alex Willemyns/RFA) It was clear, she said, that Hun Sen hoped to give his regime – known for arresting opposition leaders, banning rival parties and violently attacking critics – a new coat of sheen using Hun Manet’s face.
But Mu Sochua said the world should not buy what Phnom Penh was selling, and pointed to the decision to deny the opposition Candlelight Party its registration papers and the vicious beating of Ny Nak as evidence that the new prime minister was more of the same.
“If he wanted to be legitimized, if he wanted to be a new generation of Cambodian leader, we would have to start with free and fair elections,” she said. “You cannot fake legitimacy. How can he show a new face for Cambodia when he is under the control of his father?”
No change
Others said they had traveled to New York to make sure the world knew Cambodians wanted the chance to freely choose their leaders.
“I came here because Cambodia is going on the wrong path for democracy,” said Thy Doak, 63, who traveled from Boston. “This dictator passed his power to Hun Manet which goes against the Paris Agreements that [say] we should have free and fair elections.”
Doak said he arrived in Cambodia as a refugee in 1984 and wanted his compatriots back home to enjoy the same freedoms he did now in the United States. He said he had no hope Hun Manet would deliver that.
“He’s no different from his father. There’s no change,” he said. “I don’t want Hun Manet to be a part of this thing. Cambodia does not deserve it. We’re supposed to be a democracy, but we have a dictatorship.”
Cambodian-Americans and former opposition party leaders protest Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Manet’s appearance at the United Nations in New York City, Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. (Alex Willemyns/RFA) Susie Chhoun, 45, who was born in the Khao-I-Dang refugee camp along the Cambodian-Thailand before her parents were given asylum in the United States in the 1980s, said she, too, held out little hope Hun Manet would usher in a period of change for her birth country.
“He already proved it. He wasn’t elected; power was basically handed to him in the regime,” Chhoun said, noting the irony of the situation.
“He got his education here in America, so you would assume he would have a different perspective and reform Cambodia to be more civilized. But it’s not the case,” she said. “He’s arresting people the same way, and this is when he’s new in power. Imagine after several decades.”
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/hun-manet-un-09222023150854.html
Copyright © 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.
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The River Ocean Cleanup (ROC) reported that the organisation collected about 800 tonnes of garbage from the Tonle Sap, Tonle Bassac and Mekong rivers in the last two years. ROC executive director Nou Sovann said ROC started its mission on June 2022 and has since then collected between 700 and 800 tonnes from the rivers.
Sovann said that the goal of the ROC was to remove all of the rubbish from the rivers in Phnom Penh by the year 2028, which would require collecting about 5,000 tonnes of trash. “We are faced with many challenges but we will expand our actions to clean up the rubbish from rivers to meet our 2028 objective,” he said during yesterday’s cleanup mission.
He said that ROC will receive another boat including some equipment to collect garbage from the river next month. “Although we have two boats for collecting garbage from the rivers we are still lacking in equipment. I appeal to the private sector to help us keep our rivers clean by providing funds for equipment,” he said.
read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501363161/roc-determined-to-clean-up-phnom-penh-rivers/
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CAMBODIA. Lagardère Travel Retail has extended its franchising agreement with Monument Books to introduce the ‘Discover’ gifts and souvenirs brand across its travel retail stores in Cambodia. The partnership comes to life with the opening of the first ‘Discover Siem Reap’ store in the Angkor Wildlife & Aquarium in Siem Reap.
Lagardère Travel Retail started its franchise partnership with Monument Books in 2017. Today, Monument Books manages three Relay stores under a franchise model in Phnom Penh & Siem Reap International Airports. Discover is a vibrant souvenir store concept with a flexible design that can be adapted to various regional environments, reflecting the local culture of each location. The concept is an experiential playground for travellers, with strong Sense of Place offering authentic, local, high-quality and affordable gifts and souvenirs. The Discover brand is present in 15 countries, including four via franchises, with over 50 stores.
Discover Siem Reap offers a range of Khmer craft gifts and souvenirs that are made in Cambodia. These include Krama scarves, stone carvings, ceramics and seasonal dried fruit among others. Standout products include the famous Kampot-terroir peppers, Cambodian cashew nut cookies, natural essential oils and herbal cosmetics.
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Independent online news outlet CamboJA removed the name of a government minister from an article about a public beating of a government critic after the Ministry of Agriculture threatened it with legal action, the outlet’s executive director told Radio Free Asia on Tuesday.
CamboJA – short for Cambodian Journalists Alliance Association – reported on Thursday that agricultural expert Ny Nak criticized Minister of Agriculture Dith Tina on Facebook over the minister’s handling of a report on rice prices.
The Facebook post doesn’t mention the minister’s name. It went live the day before the Sept. 12 assault, which left Ny Nak initially unconscious and bleeding from the head after several unidentified men beat him with metal batons.
The ministry responded to the article in a letter to CamboJA on Friday that said their reporting “speculates that the attack on Ny Nak was politically motivated based on his recent baseless posts criticizing government officials and institutions.”
The article also includes the minister’s name “even though the minister has never been mentioned by name in any of Ny Nak’s recent Facebook posts,” the letter said.
The ministry urged CamboJA “to rectify these serious breaches of journalistic ethics by removing unsubstantiated claims and speculations” that hurt the reputations of ministry officials.
It also demanded that the publication remove the minister’s name from the article and that it “ensure that such malicious intentions and defamatory speculations do not recur in the future which would result in legal actions that could lead to the same outcome” of Voice of Democracy, an independent media outlet that was closed by the government in February.
Agricultural expert Ny Nak recovering in Phnom Penh in undated photo. Ny Nak was the latest victim of attacks on government critics that have gone unpunished. Credit: Facebook/lifeandinvironment
Posting under a pseudonym
CamboJA, a network formed by former reporters of The Cambodia Daily and Phnom Penh Post, deleted the minister’s name from the article and added an editor’s note on Monday.
It also added the name of Associate Editor Jack Brook as a contributor to the article and corrected the spelling of the name of an investigator for human rights group Adhoc who was quoted in the article.
“We think the Ministry of Agriculture’s request is acceptable and we’ve removed [ the minister’s] name because Ny Nak's Facebook posting didn’t mention the minister by name, only his picture,” CamboJA Executive Director Nop Vy told RFA.
Ny Nak was recently released from an 18-month jail term for criticizing Cambodia’s COVID-19 restrictions. Since his release, he has posted comments critical of the government on Facebook under the pseudonym IMAN-KH.
His post last week about the minister came a day after he said he was approached by two members of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party asking him to join the party. He said he had refused the invitation, saying he is “neither a member of the ruling party or the opposition.”
He was traveling with his wife Sok Sinet in Phnom Penh on Sept. 12 when a motorbike crashed into them and unidentified men began beating them.
Ny Nak was taken to a local hospital and pledged on Friday to join the CPP – but only if Prime Minister Hun Manet can arrest his attackers.
On Monday, Minister of Interior Touch Sokhak told Voice of America that the suspects were probably using the accident as a pretext to rob Ny Nak and his wife.
“Until we arrest them we will see what they will answer about their intentions. We will know what this case is all about,” he told VOA. “But for the preliminary [assessment] this is a violent action and intended to rob the victim’s motorbike.
‘Ny Nak won’t run away’
Sok Sinet denied that her husband’s attack was a robbery.
“To me, I observed their actions. They intended to kill my husband,” she said. “It was an assassination attempt. I didn’t lose any handbag, money, phones or a motorbike.”
RFA was unable to reach Touch Sokhak for comment on Tuesday.
Human Rights Watch said in a statement on Tuesday that the attack “shares similarities with assaults reported earlier in 2023 against members of the opposition Candlelight Party, which were never seriously investigated.”
Ny Nak said on Facebook on Monday that he will be released from the hospital soon, and he promised not to run away from Cambodia.
“This is my part as a Cambodian. I will continue to help the country until I die,” he wrote. “Ny Nak won’t run away, doesn’t hide, sell out or seek asylum in a third country but will continue to stay with Cambodian farmers forever.”
Translated by Yun Samean. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/news-outlet-legal-threat-09192023164628.html
Copyright © 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.
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Cambodia is looking forward to Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s visit to Phnom Penh later this month, aimed at further boosting ties between the two countries, according to Cambodia’s government spokesman. “We are neighbours and we both have new prime ministers, so it is good to meet each other to continue cooperation and boost ties further,” spokesman Pen Bona was quoted by the Khmer Times as saying.
He said, however, that there is no set agenda yet or indication of agreements that will be signed during Srettha’s visit to Phnom Penh.
Srettha will meet Prime Minister Hun Manet, who was appointed to Cambodia’s top executive post on the same day as the Thai leader last month.
The visit of Srettha was discussed during a recent meeting between Sarun Charoensuwan, the Thai permanent secretary for foreign affairs, and Soeung Rathchavy, Cambodia’s secretary of state at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Bangkok.
READ MORE https://www.thaipbsworld.com/pm-srettha-to-visit-cambodia-this-month/
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A critic of Cambodia’s government who was hospitalized in critical condition this week after being beaten by thugs has pledged to join the ruling Cambodian People’s Party – provided Prime Minister Hun Manet can arrest his attackers.
The attack on agricultural expert Ny Nak was the latest of dozens by helmet-wearing, baton-wielding motorbike drivers on outspoken activists in Cambodia. Most of the incidents have targeted members of the opposition, who say they are politically motivated, and none of the attackers have been brought to justice.
On Friday, Ny Nak posted an undated photo to his Facebook account of him with then-General Hun Manet at the home of the former Prime Minister Hun Sen – Hun Manet’s father – and offered his expertise to the government, if it is willing to pursue his case.
“My only hope for Ny Nak is justice for the violence,” the activist said, speaking in the third person.
“Samdech Hun Manet can help speed up authorities' investigation to apprehend the suspects involved with the assault and bring them to justice,” he said, using an honorific for the prime minister. “If Samdech helps, I will defect and serve the government after justice is served."
Ny Nak, who was recently released from an 18-month jail term for criticizing Cambodia’s COVID-19 restrictions, was traveling with his wife Sok Sinet in the capital Phnom Penh on Tuesday when a motorbike crashed into them and its occupants began beating him with metal batons, she told RFA Khmer. Sok Sinet said she was also beaten.
The unidentified men beat Ny Nak unconscious and he was taken for treatment to a local clinic. He was initially in critical condition, but Wednesday was downgraded to stable condition, his wife said.
A scan shows that his skull is not fractured but he can't eat and is in pain, Sok Sinet said.
Photos obtained by RFA showed the activist in bed with gauze wrapped around his head and balled up inside his ears, his hands bandaged, and his lips severely swollen.
Outspoken government critic
Since his release from prison earlier this year, Ny Nak had been posting comments critical of the government on Facebook under the pseudonym IMAN-KH.
Hours before being attacked, Ny Nak had taken to the social media platform to slam Minister of Agriculture Dith Tina over his handling of a report on rice prices.
Undated photo of Ny Nak with then-General Hun Manet at the home of the former Prime Minister Hun Sen. Ny Nak, a critic of Cambodia’s government was hospitalized in critical condition this week after being beaten by unidentified assailants has pledged to join the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, provided Prime Minister Hun Manet can arrest his attackers. Facebook/lifeandinvironment His post came a day after Ny Nak said he had been approached by two members of the CPP who asked him to join the party. He said he had refused the invitation, saying he is “neither a member of the ruling party or the opposition.”
In late 2019, the agricultural expert was convicted to 18 months in prison and fined 2 million riels (US$485) after he criticized Cambodia’s COVID-19 policy as being too restrictive. He later apologized to Hun Sen and later posted photos of himself with the head of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, or CPP.
Health improving
Before posting his offer to join the CPP to Facebook on Friday, Ny Nak provided updates on his health and vowed to “sacrifice my blood for the sake of the country.”
Photos he posted of his current condition appear to show that he has improved, although his face remains swollen and he still has several stitches in his forehead.
RFA was unable to reach Ny Nak or Sok Sinet for comment on Friday, but the latter posted a video to her Facebook account showing that Ny Nak was now able to and saying that he had regained some of his strength and can meditate.
“I want to thank all the people who love my husband and gave him money and courage for his treatment after his assault by unknown suspects," she wrote.
Attempts by RFA to reach the Phnom Penh police for comment on the status of its investigation went unanswered.
At least 50 political and social activists have been victimized in similar attacks in Cambodia in recent years. Last month, two opposition party activists who sought political asylum in Thailand were also attacked.
Translated by Samean Yun. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/pledge-09152023144025.html
Copyright © 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.
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A man, who set up a large marijuana plantation in Mondulkiri, has been arrested Mondulkiri Provincial Police stated that they arrested a Vietnamese suspect on September 14, 2023, They named the man as 28-year-old Jing Hang An, a Vietnamese national, who was arrested under arrest warrant No. 53, dated June 29, 2023, issued by Mr. Chan Daravong, Investigating Judge of Mondulkiri Provincial Court.
The man is accused of “Illegal Growing of Drugs” on a rented plantation owned by HE Mao Thun Reak in Mepai Village, Pou Chrey Commune, Pichreada District, Mondulkiri Province In this case, the suspects and exhibits are being processed by the Anti-Drug Bureau and sent to court for legal proceedings.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501361577/foreigner-arrested-for-illegal-marijuana-plantation/
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All 10 ASEAN states will begin a joint military exercise Tuesday in Indonesia, the first time such an event will involve only the bloc’s members even as Beijing asserts its sweeping claims in the disputed South China Sea.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has held joint drills with other countries, including the United States and China, but this ASEAN-only exercise is a sign of growing cooperation and unity on maritime security, analysts told BenarNews, an online news agency affiliated with Radio Free Asia.
The 10 ASEAN members will be joined by prospective 11th member, Timor Leste, during the five-day non-combat exercise. Officially called ASEAN Solidarity Exercise, it will take place around Batam and Natuna Islands near the South China Sea, Lt. Col. Abidin Tobba, media coordinator for the event, told BenarNews on Monday.
“Eleven countries and hundreds of personnel will take part in the exercise,” including Myanmar, Abidin said without specifying why it was participating.
Myanmar’s military junta has been persona non grata at ASEAN meetings because of its failure to implement a regional peace plan agreed two months after the army seized power from an elected government in February 2021.
The drills will include joint maritime patrols, medical evacuation, search and rescue and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in simulated affected areas, the Indonesian military said.
Enhancing regional stability
They are expected to enhance regional stability and “boost our countries’ economy,” according to Indonesia’s military commander, Adm. Yudo Margono, who proposed the ASEAN exercise during a meeting of the bloc’s defense forces chiefs in Bali in June.
Indonesia is this year’s holder of the rotating ASEAN chairmanship.
The exercise comes three weeks after Beijing released a new map including Taiwan and practically the entire South China Sea. But Southeast Asian countries and Taiwan rejected the map.
China claims almost all of the South China Sea, including waters within the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, which are ASEAN members, and Taiwan. Indonesia is not a claimant in the dispute, but has repeatedly protested against Chinese fishing boats and coast guard vessels entering its waters near the Natuna Islands.
A U.N. arbitration court in 2016 ruled that China’s nine-dash line, a boundary used by Beijing on Chinese maps to illustrate its claim, was invalid. But Beijing has rejected the ruling and insisted it has jurisdiction over all areas within the dashed line.
In the latest incident, Chinese ships sailed uncomfortably close to and hemmed in a Philippine Coast Guard ship as it escorted civilian supply boats Manila’s military outpost in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal.
A BenarNews correspondent and other reporters, who were given special permission to travel aboard two Philippine Coast guard Ships for a resupply mission, witnessed the tense moments at sea.
An Indonesian naval cadet uses binoculars as he monitors the signal from the KRI Diponegoro-365 during a joint exercise on guarding Indonesia’s borders in the North Natuna Sea, Oct. 1, 2021. [Muhammad Adimaja/Antara Foto/via Reuters] ASEAN members Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Singapore have no connection to the dispute but are participating in the exercise because it is valuable and sends a message to the superpowers, said Vinsensio Dugis, head of the ASEAN Studies Center at Airlangga University in Surabaya.
“Not all are involved in the South China Sea dispute, but this [exercise] shows that even those who do not have direct claims are also concerned about this issue,” he told BenarNews.
He said the exercise also signals that ASEAN does not want to be seen as siding with either China or the United States, which have been engaged in a strategic rivalry in the Indo-Pacific region.
Internal conflict
However, the South China Sea issue has caused conflict within ASEAN before, including, media reports said, on the location of the joint exercise.
Cambodia and Myanmar, which have strong ties to China, had initially not confirmed participation in the exercise when it was announced in June.
Some media reports said Cambodia had opposed the earlier planned location in the North Natuna Sea, which lies within Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) but parts of which China claims.
Later in June, Indonesia changed the ASEAN exercise location to Batam near Singapore and the waters of South Natuna, citing their suitability for non-combat drills such as joint maritime patrols, medical evacuation and disaster relief.
Indonesia renamed the southern reaches of the South China Sea the North Natuna Sea in 2017 to emphasize its sovereignty over those waters, which encompass natural gas fields. Indonesia, as well as Malaysia and Vietnam have accused China of disrupting their oil and gas exploration activities with frequent incursions by China Coast Guard and maritime militia ships.
The U.S., which is not a South China Sea claimant but is in a defense treaty with ASEAN member Philippines, has challenged China’s claims by conducting “freedom of navigation” operations in the waterway.
And with Beijing renewing its warning about invading U.S. ally Taiwan, which China considers a renegade province, the strife between the two superpowers has made Southeast Asia a geopolitical tinderbox, analysts have said.
ASEAN’s decision to hold this members-only exercise is an effort to maintain regional stability amid this superpower rivalry, analysts said.
The intention of the exercise is to “show joint agency, regardless of the contention and rivalry between great powers,” Muhammad Waffaa Kharisma, a researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Jakarta, told BenarNews.
“It still has high value because it practically addresses actual needs such as disaster response, search and rescue, etc. that have been overshadowed by the U.S.-China relations and high politics issues,” he said.
BenarNews is an online news outlet affiliated with Radio Free Asia.
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/southchinasea/asean-military-exercises-09182023173736.html
Copyright © 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.
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Koh Ker Temple was listed officially by UNESCO yesterday as a world heritage site. During the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee in Saudi Arabia yesterday, UNESCO officially announced the listing of Koh Ker temple as a new world heritage site. The Cambodian government is committed to conserving the archaeological site in accordance with principles set out by the World Heritage Committee.
Minister of Culture and Fine Arts, Phoeurng Sackona, led Cambodian delegates to join the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Koh Ker is a 10th-century temple complex and former capital of the Khmer Empire. It is located in Srayong Cheung village, Srayong commune, Kulen district, Preah Vihear province.
King Norodom Sihamoni yesterday thanked the World Heritge Committee for recognising Koh Ker for the cultural heritage of Cambodia. Prime Minister Hun Manet said yesterday that September 17 will be remembered as an important historical day for the Cambodian nation.
read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501361720/koh-ker-temple-inscribed-on-the-unesco-world-heritage-list/
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Phnom Penh, Cambodia —
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet will seek to strengthen ties with China when he visits Beijing later this week, analysts said.
Hun Manet will make an official visit to China from Sept. 14 to 16, China's Foreign Ministry announced Monday.
The son of Hun Sen, who led the Southeast Asian nation for almost four decades, Hun Manet took office on Aug. 22.
"At the invitation of Premier Li Qiang of the State Council, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun will pay an official visit to China," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in a statement.
Last week, Hun Manet, a 45-year-old West Point graduate, said Cambodia's new government will maintain an "unchanged stance" on Beijing's "One China" policy, and a "non-interference policy" toward China.
The One China policy views Taiwan as an inalienable part of China. Taiwan, a self-governing island, disputes Beijing's claim to its territory.
In Beijing, Hun Manet is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and hold a meeting with Premier Li Qiang on bilateral and multilateral cooperation, Cambodia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
"As Cambodia and China are commemorating the 65th Anniversary of the Diplomatic Relations and the Year of Friendship, this forthcoming visit of Samdech Thipadei HUN Manet is poised to further consolidate the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Cooperation between the two nations," the statement said.
Hun Manet will also participate in the 20th ASEAN-China Expo Sept. 16-17 in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Mao said China hopes that the visit will "chart the course for the comprehensive strategic cooperation between the two countries in the next stage."Maintaining close ties with Beijing amid increasing U.S.-China strategic competition is likely to top the agenda during the trip, according to analysts.
"Cambodia-China's alignment on certain foreign policy agendas is sure. When two countries have a strong political and diplomatic tie, they offer mutual supports on certain agendas," Chhay Lim, a visiting fellow at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, wrote in an email to VOA Khmer on Tuesday.
It is clear, he added, that Cambodia supports Beijing's One China policy and regards its stance on Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan as domestic issues.
"In return, China supports Cambodia's development, despite the West's criticism of [former prime minister] Hun Sen's regime on human rights violations, oppression on political activists, and so on and so forth," Chhay Lim said.Cambodia is drawing closer to China and their relationship has been elevated to what Beijing calls the Diamond Hexagon cooperation framework.
Established in February, it focuses on six priority areas: political cooperation, production capacity and quality, agriculture, energy, security, and people-to-people exchanges, according to China's state media outlet, Xinhua.
Cambodia has long supported China, including at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, in return for receiving significant investments, loans and grants from China to build infrastructure, according to analysts.
Cambodia decided not to join ASEAN's first joint military drills this month, proposed by Indonesia, current chair of the bloc, which aims to exercise in the contested South China Sea much of which China claims as its own.
"Cambodia doesn't want to participate [in the drills] because Cambodia doesn't want to have strife with China," Em Sovannara, a political science professor in Phnom Penh, told VOA Khmer on Wednesday.As chair of ASEAN in 2012, Cambodia was criticized for blocking a joint communique on the South China Sea because Cambodia defended China's position on the disputed waters.
Last week, ASEAN — a bloc of 10 Southeast Asian nations that operates on the principle of consensus and noninterference of sovereignty — remained divided over how to deal with China's aggressive behavior in the disputed waters.
Yulius Hermawan, a lecturer on international relations at Parahyangan Catholic University in Bandung, Indonesia, told VOA Khmer in an email it is worrying that ASEAN leaders failed to show a united response to China, which "may reflect a high degree of China's ability to steer ASEAN as a regional bloc."Among ASEAN member states, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei are official claimants against China.
They failed to bring the other six members — Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand — on board to address the South China Sea disputes in a joint statement at the bloc's annual summit ended last week.
Some speculate Cambodia could seek to engage with Western nations while keeping close ties with China.
Chhay Lim, a Cambodian scholar, said Hun Manet clearly understands the Western perspectives, saying the main question is not whether Cambodia will change its China strategy, but whether Phnom Penh can "formulate strategies to engage with Western nations or to cultivate more friendly relations with them" for potential economic benefits, given that the U.S. and the EU remain its largest export markets.
Additional reporting in Phnom Penh by Han Noy and Sim Chansamnang.
https://www.voanews.com/a/7267791.html
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More than 4 kilograms of cocaine – smuggled from from Brazil to Cambodia, via Dubai and Malaysia – have been seized at Phnom Penh International Airport. KAREN CECIA LOPEZ VACA, Female, a Bolivian national, was stopped at customs while trying to enter Cambodia. She had travelled from Rio, Brazil via Dubai, then changed her flight in Malaysia and then travelled to Phnom Penh International Airport on flight MH762 from Malaysia.
Over 4kg of cocaine were found sewn into her clothing. The crackdown follows the orders of General Sar Thet, the National Police Commissioner, and General Mak Chito, the Deputy Commissioner General of the Anti-Drug Crime Plan, under the direct command of Lt. Gen. Kheng Sarath, Director of the Anti-Drug Department.
The operation was organized by the Anti-Drug Department and coordinated by Mr. Vong Savath, Deputy Prosecutor of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, in collaboration with the General Department of Immigration and the General Department of Customs and Excise at Phnom Penh International Airport.
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A three-policy approach to provide services and protect more than 1.2 million Cambodian migrant workers working abroad was announced yesterday by the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training. According to the ministry, the three-policy approach consists of strengthening services provided by Cambodian Embassies abroad which will work closely with foreign companies to look after the interests of migrant workers.
The ministry said that the second policy was to strengthen the mechanism for inspection of private recruitment agencies to ensure recruitment was transparent, effective and protected Cambodian workers. The third policy would see the ministry provide support for migrant workers by facilitating the processing of work documents, legal protection, emergency intervention, and regular visits by Cambodian embassy officials while abroad.
According to the ministry, from 2018 to 2022 it has intervened in and solved 14,851 cases related to issues affecting Cambodian migrant workers. It added that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the ministry also provided medical and food assistance to disadvantaged workers in Thailand.
read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501360580/ministry-adopts-three-policy-approach-to-aid-migrant-workers/
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EDC would like to inform the public that they will halt the electricity in the following areas and timeframes:
Despite efforts to prevent major power outages, the supply of electricity in the below areas will be inevitably interrupted, and EDC would like to apologize for this inconvenience.
Friday, September 15, 2023:
(A) – Between 08:00 and 13:00 at:
1-Khan Russey Keo: Zone PT1946 in Sangkat Svay Pak (Wat Phnom Branch)
(B) – Between 08:00 and 16:00 at:
1-Khan Sen Sok, some areas located in Sangkat Teuk Thla, Sangkat Phnom Penh Thmey, Sangkat O Bek Kam, Sangkat Kraing Thnong, Sangkat Kork Khleang, Sangkat Chhmounh (O Bek Kam Branch and O Dim Branch).
2-Khan Meanchey: Some areas located in Sangkat Stung Meanchey I, Stung Meanchey III
3-Khan Por Sen Chey: Zone PT1890, including some fire areas located in Sangkat Choam Chao I (Toul Pong Branch).
read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501360470/another-weekend-of-powercuts-for-phnom-penh/
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Ny Nak is in critical condition after being attacked by baton-wielding motorbikers.
A critic of Cambodia’s government was hospitalized in critical condition Tuesday after unidentified assailants attacked him on his motorbike in the capital Phnom Penh, just hours after he slammed the country’s minister of agriculture on social media.
The attack is the latest by helmet-wearing, baton-wielding motorbike drivers on dozens of outspoken activists in Cambodia. Most of the incidents have targeted members of the opposition, who say they are politically motivated, and none of the attackers have been brought to justice.
Ny Nak, who was recently released from an 18-month jail term for criticizing Cambodia’s COVID-19 restrictions, was traveling with his wife Sok Sreynet when a motorbike crashed into them and its occupants began beating him with metal batons, Sok Sreynet told RFA Khmer.
The unidentified men beat Ny Nak unconscious and he was taken for treatment to a local clinic, where he remains in critical condition.
Photos obtained by RFA show the activist in bed with gauze wrapped around his head and balled up inside his ears, his hands bandaged, and his lips severely swollen.
Sok Sreynet said that while police came to the scene of the attack to file a report and collect security camera footage, she doesn’t expect their investigation to yield any results, noting that none of the assailants involved in similar beatings have ever been arrested.
"Lately, my husband has been speaking out about social issues, so there might be people who don't like him [because of that],” she said. “He hasn't had any arguments with anyone who might be looking to take revenge against him.”
Sok Sreynet questioned why someone would beat another person to within inches of their life just because they spoke out about an injustice.
“I pity him that in this society, when you are the victim, no one will help you," she said.
In a Facebook post that included photos of Ny Nak in the clinic, Sok Sreynet urged authorities to arrest the suspects in his case and “bring justice to my husband.”
Outspoken activist
Tuesday was not the first time Ny Nak had run afoul of authorities for speaking out against the government.
The agricultural expert was convicted to 18 months in prison and fined 2 million riels (US$485) in late 2019 after he criticized Cambodia’s COVID-19 policy as being too restrictive. He later apologized to then-Prime Minister Hun Sen and later posted photos of himself with the head of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, or CPP.
Since his release earlier this year, Ny Nak has been posting comments critical of the government on Facebook under the pseudonym IMAN-KH.
Hours before being attacked on Tuesday, Ny Nak had taken to the social media platform to slam Minister of Agriculture Dith Tina over his handling of a report on rice prices.
"You are the minister, you have more than 60 advisors, you use drones to spy on people, but you can't find an aide to write a [proper] report,” he wrote at the time.
His post came a day after Ny Nak said he had been approached by two members of the CPP who asked him to join the party. He said he had refused the invitation, saying he is “neither a member of the ruling party or the opposition.”
Dozens of cases still open
Am Sam Ath, the head of local rights group Licadho, said authorities should conduct a full investigation of the incident and prosecute the suspects, as well as those in the country’s other outstanding political assault cases. He warned that if Prime Minister Hun Manet can't resolve the cases, people will accuse his government of being politically motivated.
"So far, there are many opposition party activists who have been attacked, but no suspects have been apprehended,” he said. “To avoid criticism of restrictions on freedom of speech or accusations of [being behind] politically motivated assaults, authorities must investigate the case."
At least 50 political and social activists have been victimized in similar attacks in Cambodia in recent years. Last month, two opposition party activists who sought political asylum in Thailand were also attacked.
Attempts by RFA to contact authorities for comment on Tuesday’s assault went unanswered, but Minister of Interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak has previously said that police “are working” on prior cases.
Translated by Samean Yun. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/beating-09122023145124.html
Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.
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Billionaire George Lindemann showcased his collection of Khmer treasures and passed them on to his children. But investigations by ICIJ and others traced many of his prized antiquities back to pillaged sacred sites.
In one of the most significant repatriations of art to Cambodia from a private collection, the family of billionaire George Lindemann has agreed to turn over 33 ancient statues that officials say include stolen antiquities trafficked to the United States.
Lindemann’s stockpile of Khmer relics was once hailed as “one of the greatest collections of Southeast Asian art in private hands.” But investigations by ICIJ and others revealed many of the 10th to 12th-century statues — which once adorned his Palm Beach mansion, and later his daughter’s home in San Francisco — were likely looted from Cambodian sacred sites and smuggled to the U.S. by disgraced art collector Douglas Latchford.
For decades, Cambodia has been on a worldwide hunt for relics pillaged from the country during years of tumultuous civil war. Among the objects recovered from the Lindemann family, according to U.S. prosecutors, is a long-sought statue of Dhrishtadyumna stolen from a temple in Koh Ker, an ancient city known for its carved sandstone masterpieces.
read more https://www.icij.org/investigations/hidden-treasures/lindemann-family-returns-33-long-sought-ancient-statues-to-cambodia/
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PHNOM PENH (Kyodo) -- More than 20 Japanese have been detained by Cambodian authorities for allegedly committing fraud using an apartment in Phnom Penh as their hub, investigative sources said Tuesday.
The move came after the Japanese Embassy in Cambodia passed on information to local authorities about the existence of Japanese involved in online fraud, according to the sources.
There have been a series of cases in which Japanese scam groups were found using Southeast Asian nations as hideouts. In April, Cambodian authorities deported 19 Japanese over their alleged involvement in phone scams, and they were arrested once back in Japan.
In the latest case, local authorities raided a facility in the Cambodian capital Monday night and found a number of Japanese and a few Vietnamese nationals there. Some fled the scene.
The authorities have also confiscated cell phones, laptops and some documents.
Like previous cases, the Japanese suspects will likely be deported.
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20230913/p2g/00m/0na/003000c
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Six members of Cambodia’s opposition Candlelight Party, or CLP, remained in police custody after they were detained on Friday and Saturday for holding a rally in support of a new political party.
Rights groups slammed the detention as the latest bid by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, or CPP, to eliminate its political rivals. They say the CPP has used other tactics – including onerous bureaucracy, legal technicalities, and intimidation – to keep would-be competitors off of the country’s ballots and maintain its grip on power.
Police arrested Banteay Meanchey province CLP leaders Sin Vatha, Tep Sambath Vathano, Long Lavi, Tuot Veasna, Chhum Sinath Van Siw and 17 others on Sept. 8 and 9 in connection with a rally they held to collect enough people’s fingerprints to register a new opposition party, former Banteay Meanchey Provincial CLP Secretary Suon Khemrin told RFA Khmer.
Authorities detained the rally’s organizers despite having obtained authorization from the Ministry of Interior to form the new Panha Tumnerp – or Intellectual Modern – Party, said Suon Khemrin.
The former CLP secretary, who was among those arrested, was released along with 16 others on the afternoon of Sept. 10, after more than 30 hours in custody, he said.
Suon Khemrin said that while in detention, police asked him who was behind the new party, but he told them he had only had seen an Aug. 18 letter from the Ministry of Interior granting Im Sognet the right to form the Tumnerp Party and requiring him to collect enough fingerprints to register the party within 180 days, according to the country’s political party law.
He told RFA that the six men who remain in detention were being held at the Banteay Meanchey Provincial Police Station “for further questioning.”
“Before I was released, the police told me to sign a document that was noticeably vague in its wording,” he said.
Attempts by RFA to contact Banteay Meanchey Provincial Police Chief Sithi Loh for comment on the arrests went unanswered.
‘Violation of political rights’
Seung Senkaruna, the spokesperson for local NGO the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association, or ADHOC, told RFA that the arrests are a violation of citizens’ political rights.
He said that the formation of a new party is a “legitimate political action,” and that authorities should facilitate such actions.
“[The authorities] have been doing this to the opposition party and its members for some time now, but it only draws more criticism and can be seen as politically motivated,” he said. “It only proves that the oppositions’ accusation of persecution is real.”
According to the Law on Political Parties, any Cambodian citizen who is aged 18 or older and is a permanent resident of the country has the right to form a political party simply by notifying the Ministry of Interior. The Ministry of Interior must reply in writing that it has received the notification within 15 days.
The law states that in order to be valid, political parties must apply for registration with at least 4,000 members, depending on the province where the party is based.
Translated by Sok Ry Sum. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/party-09122023161720.html
Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.
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The restoration team of the Department of Conservation of Monuments and Preventive Archeology of the APSARA National Authority continues the restoration work of Prohm Kel Temple, located in northwest of Angkor Wat Temple, to make sure that the entire structure of the temple is strong again, according to the authority’s news release Monday.
Mao Sokny, head of the Prohm Kel Temple restoration site and architect of the Department of Conservation of Monuments and Preventive Archeology, said the Prohm Kel Temple was severely damaged, some stones fell, and half part of the central tower collapsed. To restore the temple’s structure after inspecting the damaged condition, experts are currently working to repair the Prohm Kel Temple starting from the end of August 2023, he pointed out.
He added that at this stage, experts have continued to excavate to study the internal structure of the temple and the height and collapse of the temple. After that, they start numbering the stones and move some of the remaining stones in both the east and north corners, then number the stones to each layer to move out, and start strengthening the foundation from the bottom up.
Sokny further stated that after moving the stones to the temple’s foundation, experts will study more about the stone layers to know which part is the strongest or most corrupt, then start to strengthen the foundation by adding stones. Although some new ones replace the old ones, experts will try to fix the temple’s foundations by default. C. Nika – AKP
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501358495/apsara-national-authority-restoring-prohm-kel-temple/
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For people in Phnom Penh who have an emergency and need help, please call 1291. You can call from any system free of charge, with the Phnom Penh Gendarmerie waiting to serve 24 hours a day.
In addition, citizens can contact the Phnom Penh Gendarmerie’s Telegram, WhatsApp via 031 5555 669 or chat to the Phnom Penh Gendarmerie Facebook page called Phnom Penh Gendarmerie.
The Phnom Penh Gendarmerie also apologises if the people have nothing; please do not call to disturb the team to leave time for other professional officers to serve the people who really need urgent help. Fresh News
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Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, the deputy national police chief, told the media this evening (Sunday) that he has been informed, by the Cambodian national security command, about the arrests of one man and three women, wanted in Thailand for the alleged online fraud, which resulted in about 1.7 million baht being owed to the call centre by the family.
He alleged that the male suspect is a supervisor of Thai nationals working for the call centre and is responsible for persuading people in Thailand to open “mule” bank accounts for money transactions.
Twelve other suspects are still at large and are believed to be hiding in Cambodia, said Surachate. Previously, a 22-year-old Russian national was arrested by Thai police on a charge of money laundering, after he allegedly sold digital coins to a member of the call centre gang.
The shadowy Chinese firm that owns chunks of Cambodia
in Cambodia News
Posted
The highway runs through the forest like a black ribbon, down to the sea and to what must be one of the world's largest tourism projects. Fifteen years after it began, there is still not much to see of the Dara Sakor Seashore Resort in southern Cambodia.
It is a grandiose scheme by a Chinese company to build a self-contained tourist city. A Chinese colony, some have called it a venue for "feasting and revelry", according to the company, complete with international airport, deep-sea port, power stations, hospitals, casinos and luxury villas. The airport is still unfinished. A single casino, with an attached five-star hotel and apartments, sits alone near the sea, fronted by an unmade road, and surrounded by a construction site.
As a tourist business it has barely got started. But it has already had a damaging impact on one of Asia's richest natural environments, and on the thousands of people who live there. China's economic footprint in Cambodia now dwarfs that of any other country. It provides half of all direct investment and most of its foreign aid.
read more https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-66851049