Blinken Urges Transparency From Cambodia on China-Funded Naval Base

[geovalin]

Phnom Penh, Cambodia — 

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday urged the Cambodian government to open the naval base it is modernizing with Chinese funds, saying use of the site would pose a threat to Southeast Asia if used for China’s defense. Blinken, in Phnom Penh to participate in the ASEAN regional meeting, hosted this year by Cambodia, called for calm in the face of China’s live-fire response in the waters surrounding Taiwan in reaction to this week’s visit to the self-governing island by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

 

Blinken also said ASEAN member nations should counter the military junta that grabbed power in Myanmar in February 2021 by seeking “ways to put more pressure on the regime — economic pressure, political pressure. They should engage with all of the representatives of the people of Myanmar, including the National Unity Government.”

 

He added, “We have to press the regime to allow humanitarian assistance to reach [the] people in Myanmar. And we should look at ways to make sure that weapons don't get to the regime.” While in Phnom Penh, Blinken held wide-ranging talks with Hun Sen, Cambodia’s leader since 1985, that included discussions of how to help get the nation’s cashew and mango crops into the world market, and the return of its far-flung looted artifacts, “something I feel very strongly about, protecting culture,” he told VOA Khmer.

 

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