China’s foreign minister arrives in Cambodia, Beijing’s closest ally in Southeast Asia

In this photo released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP), Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, left, greets Cambodian Foreign Minister SOK Chenda Sophea, right, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, April 21, 2024. ( AKP via AP)

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Cambodia on Sunday for a three-day official visit to reaffirm ties with Beijing’s closest ally in Southeast Asia. His visit is the latest stop on a three-country regional swing that also took him to Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

He is visiting amid foreign concerns about two major Chinese-funded projects in Cambodia – a planned canal and a naval base – that critics say could support Beijing’s strategic military interests in Southeast Asia.

China is Cambodia’s most important ally and benefactor, with a strong influence on its economy. This is illustrated by numerous Chinese-funded projects – mainly infrastructure, including airports and roads, but also private projects such as hotels, casinos and real estate development. More than 40% of Cambodia’s $10 billion in foreign debt is owed to China.

Wang will hold separate meetings with Prime Minister Hun Manet and his father, Hun Sen, who is now president of the Senate after serving as Cambodia’s head of government for 38 years until he resigned last year to be succeeded by his son. Wang also received a royal audience with King Norodom Sihamoni.

Their Manet has shown no sign of diverging from his father’s pro-Beijing foreign policy. In August 2023, Wang visited Cambodia, just days after Hun Sen announced he would step down as prime minister in favor of his eldest son.

Beijing’s support allows Cambodia to ignore Western concerns about its poor human and political rights record, and Cambodia in turn generally supports Beijing’s positions on foreign policy issues , such as its territorial claims to the South China Sea.

Cambodia recently reiterated its determination to press ahead with the Chinese-funded, 180-kilometer, $1.7 billion Funan Techo Canal project through four provinces in the southern part of the country to connect the capital Phnom Penh with the Gulf of Thailand to connect.

The plan has raised concerns in neighboring Vietnam, where some scholars speculated that the 100-meter-wide and 5.5-meter-deep canal could make it easier for China to send forces south, close to Vietnam’s southern coast. There are often frosty relations between Vietnam and its huge northern neighbor China, which aggressively claims maritime territory claimed by Hanoi and staged a brief invasion in 1979.

The United States has also contributed to the project and called for transparency on the part of the Cambodian government. Wesley Holzer, spokesperson for the US Embassy in Phnom Penh, told the Voice of America that “the Cambodian people, along with people in neighboring countries and the broader region, would benefit from transparency about any major undertaking with potential impacts on regional water supplies . agricultural management, agricultural sustainability and safety”,

Speaking to government officials and villagers in the southern province of Takeo on Thursday, Hun Manet dismissed Vietnamese concerns and vowed to move forward with the project, which he said would bring great benefit to Cambodia.

China is also involved in another project of foreign concern, the Ream naval base on the Gulf of Thailand, which the United States and some international security analysts say is destined to serve as a strategic outpost for Beijing’s navy.

The Ream base initially attracted attention in 2019 when The Wall Street Journal reported that an early draft of an agreement seen by U.S. officials would allow China to use the base for 30 years, where it could station military personnel, carry weapons could store and provide a berth. warships.

Hun Sen repeatedly denied that such an agreement existed, pointing out that Cambodia’s constitution does not allow foreign military bases to be established on its territory and stating that visiting ships from all countries are welcome.

The base is located on the Gulf of Thailand, bordering the South China Sea, where China has aggressively asserted its claim to virtually the entire strategic waterway. The US has refused to recognize China’s sweeping claims and routinely carries out military maneuvers there to cement China’s status in international waters.

On December 7, two Chinese naval vessels were the first ships to dock at a new pier at the base, coinciding with an official visit to Cambodia by China’s top defense official.