In Cambodia, an Unnamed Donor’s Gift of 290 Chinese Trucks to Army and Police Raises Concerns

[geovalin]

In Cambodia, an Unnamed Donor’s Gift of 290 Chinese Trucks to Army and Police RaisesConcerns

 

Critics say the trucks will be used against civilians in a government crackdown.

 

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s son unveiled a shipment of 290 Chinese-made military trucks on Thursday, saying the vehicles were not aid from Beijing but gifts from unnamed donors -- prompting fears they will be deployed against civilians amid a three-year crackdown on the opposition.

 

At a ceremony to distribute the vehicles to the armed forces and police, Hun Manet, Hun Sen’s eldest son and commander of the Royal Cambodian Army, parried criticisms of the acquisition, saying that the money for the trucks came from private donations and did not cost Cambodia a single riel.

 

The unnamed donors “want to update the military’s capacity to serve the country and people,” he said at the ceremony.

 

“Buying the trucks was not a waste of money,” said the four-star general.

 

He said the vehicles, ordered a year earlier, would be used during natural disasters such as floods and wildfires and to defend Cambodia’s interests in a border dispute with Vietnam that dates back to end of French colonial rule in the 1950s.

 

“The military can’t jump on motorbikes to help people in cases of emergency. The trucks are a new way to increase the military’s capacity in serving the country and the people,” said.

 

Hun Manet denied that the trucks, which arrived by ship last week, were a gift from the Chinese government. Beijing’s political support is seen by wary Cambodians as entrenching Hun Sen’s authoritarian policies while deepening Chinse influence on the country.

 

“We do not need to lie, If they were donated by China, then we will say it is a Chinese donation,” he said. “If it was a Chinese donation and we said we purchased the trucks, would they agree?”

 

Hun Manet did not reveal the names of the donors, but the military installed a sign at the ceremony saying the vehicles were donated by Hun Sen and his wife.

 

 

 

.

 

 

Trucks for crackdowns

 

Critics are concerned that the trucks will be used to help the government more efficiently subjugate the Cambodian people – three years after Hun Sen banned the country’s main opposition party and arrested its leader, in a crackdown that still sees activists arrested every week,

 

“The trucks will be used to crack down on the people, not to fight against a Vietnamese invasion,” Um Sam An, a former lawmaker from the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party told RFA’s Khmer Service.

 

He pointed out that Cambodia’s military had no trouble responding to a recent border incident in Kandal province.

 

“These trucks will be used to protect [Hun Manet’s] father’s power,” said Um Sam An, who also disagreed with distributing some of the vehicles to the police.

 

“Police don’t need large trucks, so it is inappropriate,” he said.

 

Another critic called on the government to be more transparent about the donors.

 

“Donors never hide their identities,” Kim Sok, a Finland-based analyst, told RFA.

 

“These trucks will be used to mobilize the military to crack down on mass protests against Hun Sen’s dictatorship,” Kim Sok said.

 

While the cost of the trucks was not revealed, RFA reported in late July 2019 that Hun Sen revealed he had allocated U.S. $40 million to purchase unspecified arms from China, on top of $290 million it had already spent on military purchases from Beijing.

 

The two countries staged joint military exercises over the final two months of March, when China was in the thick of its COVID-19 response.

 

With Cambodia isolated from Western trade partners since the crackdown on the opposition, Beijing has offered its full support for Hun Sen’s government. In turn, Cambodia has increasingly backed Chinese positions on international issues, including in disputes in the South China Sea.

 

Chinese investment has flowed into Cambodian real estate, agriculture and entertainment, but Cambodians regularly chafe at what they say are unscrupulous business practices and coarsebehavior by Chinese residents, and worry that their country is increasingly bending to Beijing’s will.

 

Reported by RFA’s Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/trucks-06182020203313.html

Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.

[steven100]

well of coarse the army needs trucks, as he mentioned they will be used in times of floods and disaster.

[1Gringo]

4 hours ago, steven100 said:

well of coarse the army needs trucks, as he mentioned they will be used in times of floods and disaster.

and we all believe that.

[wombat]

6 hours ago, geovalin said:

“want to update the military’s capacity to serve the country and people,”

especially 'his' people to facilitate the movement of stuff around the country would be my guess

[klauskunkel]

6 hours ago, geovalin said:

“We do not need to lie,

but we do it anyway, because it's our nature."

[Isaan sailor]

CCP Checklist:

Hong Kong—legislative lockdown—check

Taiwan—harassment by naval flotilla-check

Spratly Islands/South China Sea—check

Cambodia—military bases, vehicles-check

Mekong—dams to suck river down-check

Thailand—raise the Baht, sign bilateral trade agreements—check

World—release pandemic to kill millions and unemployed millions more—check

Edited June 19, 2020 by Isaan sailor

[Burma Bill]

For reference - quotes from Khmer Times June 19 2020:-

 

He said the trucks were purchased by the Kingdom through a fundraising effort initiated by Prime Minister Hun Sen. He said the money was donated by Cambodian companies and Cambodian people.

 

“I wish to clarify that we did not use even a single riel of the national budget, but used money from the fundraising with local charities,” he said. “The initiative by Samdech Decho [Mr Hun Sen] to appeal to generous people to support the army is nothing new. He has been doing this for many years.”

 

Lt Gen Manet also denied reports that the vehicles were donated by the Chinese government. He said China has regularly helped the Kingdom even during the COVID-19 outbreak, including sending medical experts and donating medical supplies, but not the military trucks.

 

 

He also expresses his gratitude to Cambodian people for their support for the defence sector, and hit back at those who criticise the truck purchase in the media and social media.

“Other countries spend millions of dollars to modernize their weapons, but when we just have new military trucks, they [critics] started attacking us,” Lt Gen Manet said.

 

 

[Deli]

Hun Sen has his head that far up Xi's a*** that hardly his feet are still visible.

 

[Deli]

2 hours ago, Burma Bill said:

For reference - quotes from Khmer Times June 19 2020:-

 

He said the trucks were purchased by the Kingdom through a fundraising effort initiated by Prime Minister Hun Sen. He said the money was donated by Cambodian companies and Cambodian people.

 

“I wish to clarify that we did not use even a single riel of the national budget, but used money from the fundraising with local charities,” he said. “The initiative by Samdech Decho [Mr Hun Sen] to appeal to generous people to support the army is nothing new. He has been doing this for many years.”

 

Lt Gen Manet also denied reports that the vehicles were donated by the Chinese government. He said China has regularly helped the Kingdom even during the COVID-19 outbreak, including sending medical experts and donating medical supplies, but not the military trucks.

 

 

He also expresses his gratitude to Cambodian people for their support for the defence sector, and hit back at those who criticise the truck purchase in the media and social media.

“Other countries spend millions of dollars to modernize their weapons, but when we just have new military trucks, they [critics] started attacking us,” Lt Gen Manet said.

 

 

<deleted>. Fundraising my a***. What about fundraising for buying food and shelter for the unemplyed due to the Chinese virus ?

[hotchilli]

On 6/19/2020 at 8:45 AM, geovalin said:

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s son unveiled a shipment of 290 Chinese-made military trucks on Thursday, saying the vehicles were not aid from Beijing but gifts from unnamed donors -- prompting fears they will be deployed against civilians amid a three-year crackdown on the opposition.

Ohh dear more bribes to keep people sweet.

[grumpy 4680]

         I'm sure the Cambodian government would find this purchase difficult to afford, so finding doners would be next to impossible, got to be a Chinese bribe.

[Redline]

Place is turning into North Korea