US army trucks donated to Cambodia.U.S. suspends some aid to Cambodia over Uighur case
Thursday, April 1, 2010
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Thursday it had halted shipments of some surplus military vehicles to Cambodia to retaliate for the Southeast Asian nation's decision to deport a group of Uighurs back to China over U.S. protests.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the United States informed Cambodia last month that it was suspending the shipment of 200 military trucks and trailers as a consequence of Cambodia's December decision on the Uighurs.
"We said there would be consequences and this is a step in that direction," Crowley said.
Cambodia in December defied international pressure and expelled 20 Uighur asylum seekers, a move that underlined its growing economic and diplomatic links with China.
Two days later it signed 14 deals worth an estimated $850 million with China. Beijing denied any link.
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Uighurs are a Turkic Muslim group native to China's far western region of Xinjiang, where ethnic rioting in July killed 197 people. Many there chafe under Chinese restrictions on their culture and religion.
The deported Uighurs were smuggled into Cambodia late last year and applied for asylum at the U.N. refugee office.
But Cambodia brushed off concerns they would be mistreated if returned and deported them for immigration offenses, a move sharply criticized by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United States.
Crowley said Cambodian authorities had ignored appeals from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her deputy on the Uighurs, and that Washington had decided that suspending the truck and trailer shipments was an appropriate response.
"This is something that is important to Cambodia, and obviously as we said there would be consequences for their failure to live up to their international obligations," he said.
(Reporting by Andrew Quinn; Editing by Xavier Briand)
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US suspends Cambodian military aid program in protest over Uighur deportations
WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States says it has suspended a small military aid program with Cambodia to protest the deportation of 20 Uighur asylum seekers to China in December.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Thursday that the United States informed Cambodia this month that it would suspend shipments of surplus trucks and trailers.
The group of Uighurs had made the journey from China's far west through to Vietnam and then Cambodia with the help of a network of missionary groups. China had accused them of being involved in ethnic rioting in July that pitted the minority group against the majority Han Chinese.
Shortly after the deportations, China announced a US$1.2 billion aid package to Cambodia.
- AP
Thursday, April 1, 2010
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Thursday it had halted shipments of some surplus military vehicles to Cambodia to retaliate for the Southeast Asian nation's decision to deport a group of Uighurs back to China over U.S. protests.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the United States informed Cambodia last month that it was suspending the shipment of 200 military trucks and trailers as a consequence of Cambodia's December decision on the Uighurs.
"We said there would be consequences and this is a step in that direction," Crowley said.
Cambodia in December defied international pressure and expelled 20 Uighur asylum seekers, a move that underlined its growing economic and diplomatic links with China.
Two days later it signed 14 deals worth an estimated $850 million with China. Beijing denied any link.
ad_icon
Uighurs are a Turkic Muslim group native to China's far western region of Xinjiang, where ethnic rioting in July killed 197 people. Many there chafe under Chinese restrictions on their culture and religion.
The deported Uighurs were smuggled into Cambodia late last year and applied for asylum at the U.N. refugee office.
But Cambodia brushed off concerns they would be mistreated if returned and deported them for immigration offenses, a move sharply criticized by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United States.
Crowley said Cambodian authorities had ignored appeals from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her deputy on the Uighurs, and that Washington had decided that suspending the truck and trailer shipments was an appropriate response.
"This is something that is important to Cambodia, and obviously as we said there would be consequences for their failure to live up to their international obligations," he said.
(Reporting by Andrew Quinn; Editing by Xavier Briand)
-------------------------------------------
US suspends Cambodian military aid program in protest over Uighur deportations
WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States says it has suspended a small military aid program with Cambodia to protest the deportation of 20 Uighur asylum seekers to China in December.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Thursday that the United States informed Cambodia this month that it would suspend shipments of surplus trucks and trailers.
The group of Uighurs had made the journey from China's far west through to Vietnam and then Cambodia with the help of a network of missionary groups. China had accused them of being involved in ethnic rioting in July that pitted the minority group against the majority Han Chinese.
Shortly after the deportations, China announced a US$1.2 billion aid package to Cambodia.
- AP
4 comments:
Keep your used trucks, uncle sam. Cambodia Military will be fine without them. I hope the Khmer government will brush this lame of a pressure as well. The US has nothing to pressure Cambodia with except these out-used equipment. Let the US play their little game. Turn to China even more and we'll see what the US will do with us now that they have no influence on us. They'll come around and offer help to try to leverage the Chinese influence for sure.
Well, maybe China might supply Cambodia with new military trucks, maybe some tanks on the side. That's how it works, whether choosing to be on the American side or the Chinese side, the little guy like Cambodia had to make the ultimate decision. Obviously, Cambodia chose China. Cambodia isn't going to lose hundreds of millions of dollars from China support. On the other hand, America supports Cambodia with an old outdated military surplus and expect Cambodia to cooperate.
The chinese aides go toward infrastructure building while the American aides mostly come from expendable junks. I think we will do fine without these scrap metal.
The trucks look quite old, but considering that Hun Sen and his cronies corrupt away all our military budget, I think these trucks are better than nothing.
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