Wednesday, March 7, 2007By Leang Delux and Soren Seelow
Translated from French by Luc Sâr
In an interview given to the CTN TV channel yesterday morning, Hor Namhong, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, discussed on the improvements of Khmer-US relationships as can be seen in the 15 Feb lifting of restriction on US direct aid to the government of Cambodia. Recalling the numerous visits of US government officials recently, and the port calling at the beginning of February by the first US navy ship in 30 years in Sihanoukville, Hor Namhong recognized that the relationships between the two countries are improving from one year to the next. “I also invited the head the US diplomacy [Condoleeza Rice] to visit Cambodia. I hope she will accept it,” he said.
According to Hor Namhong, this improvement did not start with the discovery of oil reserve by US giant Chevron. “It started a few years back already,” he assured before starting to count the reasons of this improvement: first, “the US is worried about economic, military, and technology development of China.” Second, Cambodia was among the very first countries to show its desire to cooperate in the fight against terrorism right after 09/11. Finally, Washington noted the efficiency of the government policy in spite of the fact that “some US members of Congress still continue to criticize Cambodia.”
The symbol of the upturn in the relationships was displayed when US President George W. Bush signed on 15 Feb the lifting of restrictions on direct US aid to Cambodia, thus allowing Washington to directly transfer its aid to the Cambodian government without any limitation. The US Congress suspended Washignton’s direct aid to Phnom Penh in 1997, following the eviction of Prince Norodom Ranariddh from power [by Hun Sen]. However, even if US aid restriction was not lifted until 10 years later, several fields have already benefited from exemption such as health, education, culture, and to a lesser extent, military cooperation.
According to Jeff Daigle, US embassy spokesman, no major changes are to be expected in the manner with which Washington will manage its aid to Cambodia. “Our approach will remain the same: we will always work with the Cambodian government on projects through NGOs. The lifting of restriction opens a door, but we cannot predict [regarding the amount, and the direction changes]. For now, we are asking the Cambodian government to improve the transparency and its financial management in order to respond to US standards, this is not the case right now,” he explained. For fiscal year 2007, an [aid] amount of $53 million has been submitted to Congress [for approval]. This is slightly less than the $54.9 million aid given to Phnom Penh last year,” Daigle said.
To Sam Rainsy, the US is adapting its strategy based on the new geopolitical data: “The balance of force in the region has changed, so are the strategies. The US must adopt a new approach to protect its interests and democracy in the world, because they want to represent the good conscience of the world. This requires more flexibility. Sometimes a bigger carrot is needed to improve one’s influence.”
Ros Chantraboth, professor of political science and vice-president of the Royal Academy, also believes that Washington wants to increase its visibility in Cambodia. “In the past, US cooperation has been channeled through NGOs. Now, they (US) want to be more visible. Otherwise, China, Japan and South Korea would take over their position,” Ros Chantraboth explained. According to Ros Chantraboth, the government must be careful not to appear to be too close to either one of these giant partners to the detriment of all others. “But, I believe the government knows that,” he said.
According to Hor Namhong, this improvement did not start with the discovery of oil reserve by US giant Chevron. “It started a few years back already,” he assured before starting to count the reasons of this improvement: first, “the US is worried about economic, military, and technology development of China.” Second, Cambodia was among the very first countries to show its desire to cooperate in the fight against terrorism right after 09/11. Finally, Washington noted the efficiency of the government policy in spite of the fact that “some US members of Congress still continue to criticize Cambodia.”
The symbol of the upturn in the relationships was displayed when US President George W. Bush signed on 15 Feb the lifting of restrictions on direct US aid to Cambodia, thus allowing Washington to directly transfer its aid to the Cambodian government without any limitation. The US Congress suspended Washignton’s direct aid to Phnom Penh in 1997, following the eviction of Prince Norodom Ranariddh from power [by Hun Sen]. However, even if US aid restriction was not lifted until 10 years later, several fields have already benefited from exemption such as health, education, culture, and to a lesser extent, military cooperation.
According to Jeff Daigle, US embassy spokesman, no major changes are to be expected in the manner with which Washington will manage its aid to Cambodia. “Our approach will remain the same: we will always work with the Cambodian government on projects through NGOs. The lifting of restriction opens a door, but we cannot predict [regarding the amount, and the direction changes]. For now, we are asking the Cambodian government to improve the transparency and its financial management in order to respond to US standards, this is not the case right now,” he explained. For fiscal year 2007, an [aid] amount of $53 million has been submitted to Congress [for approval]. This is slightly less than the $54.9 million aid given to Phnom Penh last year,” Daigle said.
To Sam Rainsy, the US is adapting its strategy based on the new geopolitical data: “The balance of force in the region has changed, so are the strategies. The US must adopt a new approach to protect its interests and democracy in the world, because they want to represent the good conscience of the world. This requires more flexibility. Sometimes a bigger carrot is needed to improve one’s influence.”
Ros Chantraboth, professor of political science and vice-president of the Royal Academy, also believes that Washington wants to increase its visibility in Cambodia. “In the past, US cooperation has been channeled through NGOs. Now, they (US) want to be more visible. Otherwise, China, Japan and South Korea would take over their position,” Ros Chantraboth explained. According to Ros Chantraboth, the government must be careful not to appear to be too close to either one of these giant partners to the detriment of all others. “But, I believe the government knows that,” he said.
