Chinese Influence Under Scrutiny

Beijing’s sway in Cambodia causes controversy in the wake of a presidential visit.

2012-04-03

Radio Free Asia

“The Chinese and Cambodian friendship is a life and death issue for Cambodia. It provides us with a life of freedom, sovereignty and independence, and is extremely vital” - Sisowath Thomico

China’s vast influence over Cambodia has come under scrutiny following a visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao to Phnom Penh on the eve of a major regional summit, during which Cambodia tried to exclude the South China Sea territorial dispute from the official agenda.

Hu on Monday concluded a four-day visit to the capital during which he met with King Norodom Sihamoni, as well as his counterpart, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

During the visit, ahead of Cambodia’s hosting of the 2012 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit on April 3-4, Hu signed a total of 10 infrastructure cooperation agreements and pledged tens of millions of dollars in grants and loans. The two sides also agreed to double bilateral trade by 2017.

Cambodia is this year’s chair of the regional ASEAN body, which also includes Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Prey Lang: “Our Forest”

Prey Lang protesters (Photo:The Phnom Penh Post)

Destruction of Prey Lang (Photo: Uon Chhin, RFA)

Thursday, June 02, 2011
Op-Ed by MP

The fate of Prey Lang, perhaps, like much else in this tragic land that stands pure, born free out of nature’s maternal womb, attains to a stage of recognisable, innocent beauty and form only to be snatched away to be robbed and raped off life and substance. Beauty, it is said, is present everywhere, yet not everyone perceives it. “Keep meditating, Bhikku, until you see beauty in every blade of grass!”

Of course, I made up the latter quote, but I hope spiritually awakened souls could see what I am getting at here.

It is encouraging that some people are calling for Prey Lang to be granted World Heritage status. In fact, it would be a good idea if all of Cambodia itself is listed as a World Heritage site so that it can be better protected from rapacious forces of greed and blind commercialism!

It is one thing to want to increase financial capital through foreign investment, but the current trend of wholesale destruction of forests and coastal regions (commercialised shrimp "farming", sand dredging etc) cannot be regarded as sustainable developments that yield benefits for present generation or dividends for future ones.

People in Cambodia have been experiencing some of the adverse effects of ecological imbalance such as marked changes in overall climatic condition: it's a lot hotter in a traditionally "humid" sub-tropical climate; rising flood water level which in many villages ruins or drowns crops and plants submerged too long in water, and in towns or cities like Phnom Penh with inadequate sewage systems, widespread ailments contracted through water contamination; monsoon storms and hurricanes ravage everything in their paths with no trees or forests to act as impact absorbents; top soil erosions caused by torrential rain and flooding in areas that have become exposed as a result of deforestations, and so forth. All of this directly damages rural as well as urban lives, but rural people maybe the most severely affected by such disasters, being obviously more exposed to the natural elements. They also constitute around 85 percent of Cambodia’s population.

Police raids against illegal fishing

21 Jan 2009
By Pen Bona
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Tola Ek
Click here to read the article in French

A large-scale police raid was held simultaneously in three provinces with the objective of stopping illegal fishing which endangers the renewal of natural resources.

More than 200 people were arrested on Wednesday 21 January by the police force during this operation, a first of its kind. The operation took place in the province of Kampong Chhnang, Pursat and Kampong Thom, and it was conducted by the ministry of Interior with the cooperation of local authorities. In addition to the arrest made, the police also seized fishing instruments. Those who were arrested are currently being under provisional detention before being brought up to the court. Among them, some are Vietnamese citizens.

Illegal fishing practice is on an alarming rise for the past several years. It contributes greatly to a noticeable reduction of fish population in the Tonle Sap Lake and the Mekong River.

Animal rights group slams Cambodia monkey trade

An undated handout picture taken recently by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) shows a wild monkey trapped in a forest in Cambodia. An animal rights group says Cambodia is flouting international conventions by allowing the cruel capture of monkeys for research in the United States and China. A report to be released on November 24, 2008 by the BUAV says thousands of long-tailed macaque monkeys are taken from the wild each year and kept in cruel conditions before being exported. REUTERS/BUAV/Handout
A handout picture taken recently by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) shows a wild monkey collected from a submerged trap being handed to one of the trappers in a forest in Cambodia. An animal rights group says Cambodia is flouting international conventions by allowing the cruel capture of monkeys for research in the United States and China. A report to be released on November 24, 2008 by the BUAV says thousands of long-tailed macaque monkeys are taken from the wild each year and kept in cruel conditions before being exported. REUTERS/BUAV/Handout
A undated handout picture taken recently by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) shows monkeys kept at Vanny Bio-Research in the Srok Kean Svay district in Cambodia. An animal rights group says Cambodia is flouting international conventions by allowing the cruel capture of monkeys for research in the United States and China. A report to be released on November 24, 2008 by the BUAV says thousands of long-tailed macaque monkeys are taken from the wild each year and kept in cruel conditions before being exported. REUTERS/BUAV/Handout
An undated handout picture taken recently by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) shows a recently caught wild infant monkey in a forest in Cambodia. An animal rights group says Cambodia is flouting international conventions by allowing the cruel capture of monkeys for research in the United States and China. A report to be released on November 24, 2008 by the BUAV says thousands of long-tailed macaque monkeys are taken from the wild each year and kept in cruel conditions before being exported. REUTERS/BUAV/Handout
A handout picture taken recently by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) shows rows of cages, used to house monkeys, at Vanny Bio-Research in the Srok Kean Svay district in Cambodia. (BUAV/Handout/Reuters)

Sun Nov 23, 2008

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - An animal rights group says Cambodia is flouting international conventions by allowing the cruel capture of monkeys for research in the United States and China.

A report to be released on Monday by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) says thousands of long-tailed macaque monkeys are taken from the wild each year and kept in cruel conditions before being exported.

Thousands more are raised on monkey farms in conditions so far removed from nature that they are traumatized for life, it says.

While the long-tailed macaque is not endangered, the group says the unregulated trade is already having an effect on population numbers and leading to a degrading of Cambodia's jungles.

"People around the world will be shocked by the findings of the BUAV investigation and to learn of the suffering inflicted on Cambodia's monkeys," said Michelle Thew, chief executive of the organization.

"At a time when there is growing international concern over the plight of primates, we urge the Cambodian government to protect its indigenous macaque population."

Apart from humans, the macaque is the world's most widespread primate and includes 22 species ranging from Africa to Japan.

They are highly intelligent and adapt well to living in urban areas where they frequently earn a love-hate relationship with locals on account of their mischievous ways.

The report says nearly 10,000 monkeys were exported from Cambodia last year -- mostly to laboratories and primate dealers in the U.S. and China.

International conventions discourage the use of captured wild animals for research, preferring second-generation breeding stock instead, but BUAV says this is widely ignored in Cambodia.

The report said as many as eight out of 10 macaques trapped in the wild died before reaching the laboratory as a result of poor treatment, handling or trauma.

The BUAV has called on the Cambodian government to better regulate the industry and to ban the capture of wild animals.

It also urges the U.S. and European Union to prohibit imports of captured wild animals and to press for better conditions at monkey breeding centers.

(Writing by David Fox; Editing by Bill Tarrant)

Sam Rainsy Warns of Natural Resources Destruction [after the adoption of the "Concession Law"]

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington
11 September 2007

Click here to listen to Sok Khemara hosting 'Hello VOA' in Khmer

A national concession law could lead to the destruction of resources, opposition leader Sam Rainsy said Monday.

The law gives administration of tangible and intangible assets to the state, which could lead to the complete depletion of resources, Sam Rainsy said, as a guest on "Hello VOA."

A party congress that drew thousands of supporters over the weekend ended with Sam Rainy retaining his position as president of the party he founded. The Sam Rainsy Party is the only opposition party with seats in parliament and is organizing a campaign for next year's national elections.

Cambodia is still plagued by a lack of transparency, and with oil reserves on the horizon, many observers worry the government will not handle the money responsibly.

The concession law could lead to more corruption, Sam Rainsy warned. Concessions like those for Angkor Wat, air traffic and telecommunications have already proved weak, he said. All the revenue flows to private owners, and little is returned as investment in the people.

He called the concession law "dangerous" and promised to review it if his party wins national elections scheduled for next year.