Japanese construction investment approvals are ranked third this year, behind China and Korea, accounting for $108 million in approved projects, according to Im Chhun Lim, minister of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction.
Speaking at the launch of Toyoko Inn Phnom Penh, a new Japanese hotel in the capital, Lim said that of the 32 registered Japanese construction companies in Cambodia, 23 had acquired licenses to conduct building activities.
“Japanese private investment in Cambodia demonstrates the confidence in the Cambodian government, also reflecting the reality of economic stability and development,” he said.
The $108 million in approved investments has resulted in over 354,000 square metres of construction across the country, he added.
Japanese investments in general, he said, have been spearheaded by companies like Minebea, Sunrise Health Care Services and Aeon among others.
Cheng Kheng, president of CPL Cambodia Properties Limited, said it was an encouraging sign that Japanese investors were looking at long-term investments in the Kingdom.
“I see with Japanese investors that when they do one thing, they have a detailed study, and are very careful, unlike Korean investments,” Kheng said.
Maiko Kuroda, CEO of Toyoko Inn Group, said the new hotel was a $10 million investment, excluding the land purchase, and has 329 rooms to accommodate guests.
Protesters wait outside the Senate building last week in Phnom Penh as government officials vote on the controversial Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations. Vireak Mai
Cambodia has rebuked the United Nations after a UN office released a statement admonishing recent political developments in the Kingdom, while an opposition lawmaker is making a last-minute attempt to stop one of those developments from becoming law.
Last Friday, the Senate passed a draft NGO law that was viewed by rights groups as muzzling the sector, while on July 21, 11 opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party activists were sentenced to prison terms of seven to 20 years for a street protest that turned violent a year ago.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) lambasted both events on Monday.
“The draft law threatens the existence of a free and independent civil society in Cambodia and the crucial work that NGOs in the country carry out on development, governance, and human rights,” their statement reads.
The OHCHR also said it was “concerned” over the perception that the government had influenced the outcome of the trial of the 11 activists.
The Cambodian government did not take kindly to the criticism.
A statement from the Press and Quick Reaction Unit released yesterday condemned OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani for the statement.
“Shamdasani’s allegations are baseless and violate the principle of rule of law, and [the allegations] clearly disagree with the National Assembly, showing deep interference into the law’s process, because all laws must be adopted by the Assembly, the Senate, and signed by the King.”
Dissident group had been found guilty of plotting to overthrow government.
By Lauren Crothers
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia
Thirteen members of a dissident group the Cambodian government refers to as a "terrorist" organization have had their convictions and sentences upheld by the appeal court in Phnom Penh.
Of the 13 -- 12 men and a woman -- tried in April 2014, six were tried in absentia. All were found guilty of plotting to overthrow the government and handed prison sentences of between seven and eight years, which were upheld at the hearing.
The Khmer National Liberation Front, or KNLF, was formed in December 2012. According to its manifesto, it is ideologically opposed to the administration of Cambodia’s long-time prime minister, Hun Sen, who they accuse of presiding over a neo-colony established by the Vietnamese.
The premier has branded the KNLF a terrorist organization and vowed to crack down on it, its members and their activities both in Cambodia and abroad.
To that end, the seven men who did get tried in person were those the government arrested in Thailand in 2013 and sent to Cambodia to face trial on accusations that they had been disseminating pamphlets critical of the government that allegedly spoke of revolution.
In a report Saturday by The Cambodia Daily, the presiding judge at the court was quoted as saying that documents and information found on laptops was incriminating because they “railed against the government and they urged the international community to not recognize the government.”
One of the 13 is KNLF president Sam Serey, who lives in self-imposed exile in Denmark and was therefore able to avoid the trial and prison sentence.
He told Anadolu Agency by email late Friday that the hounding of KNLF members is “unjust”, because the group acts in accordance with the constitution.
"We have not committed anything wrong. We just want to use our rights but they have been unfairly imprisoned," Serey said, adding that the court lacks independence and is a “political tool of Hun Sen's regime.”
“[I] would like send this message to all members of KNLF and all pro-democracy activists in Cambodia that you all are not alone; I am standing with all of you. Your voices have been heard,” he added.
SYDNEY (AFP) – Papua New Guinea Premier Peter O’Neill yesterday pledged support in tackling human trafficking, confirming the seizure of a boat carrying alleged slaves from Cambodia and Myanmar.
Mr. O’Neill said the eight people were rescued from the fishing boat “Blissful Reefer” on July 27 in PNG waters.
Officials were questioning the 19 crew, including the captain, in the capital Port Moresby while the eight were being kept in at safe site before their return home, he said.
“There are other vessels of interest in the area and we are following lines of inquiry into their activities,” he said adding: “The forced trafficking of humans, slaves by any other description, is one of the most disgusting practices in the world today.”
The boat seizure came as the US released its annual ranking of human trafficking, with Thailand at the bottom of the list. Thai trafficking centers on its sex trade, but there is also abuse in commercial fishing.
Understanding cultural hegemony in Asia highlights the difficulties faced by young progressives fighting for change.
By James Buchanan
July 31, 2015 TD
mage Credit: REUTERS/Bobby Yip
One of Singapore’s sons was freed earlier this month after spending a total of fifty days in detention for his irreverent comments about the city state’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew, who passed away in March at the age of 91.
Ostensibly, 16-year-old Amos Yee was charged with “wounding the religious feelings of Christians” in a YouTube video that lambasted Lee Kuan Yew and compared him to Jesus, whom the young blogger described as ‘power hungry and malicious’. Amos was also found guilty of posting obscene material on the Internet, reference to a crude illustration of Lee and former British premier Margaret Thatcher in an acrobatic sex maneuver.
However, the ferocity with which the Singaporean authorities pursued the boy suggests that religious sensitivity and obscenity were secondary concerns – his real crime was having the impudence to attack the revered elder statesman, particularly at the time of his passing and in such a vulgar way.
Expletives aside, Amos’ video offered a convincing critique of Singapore’s illiberal democracy, in which the People’s Action Party formed by Lee Kuan Yew has completely dominated politics since 1959. He also drew attention to the country’s long working hours, income inequality, high tax rates, and poor social security – issues increasingly vexing to the lower and “squeezed middle” sectors of Singaporean society. Although the PAP won its usual supermajority in 2011 elections, it did so with the lowest ever share of the popular vote. With an election imminent, Amos’ comments would have caused disquiet amongst the ruling elites, who hastened to arrest him on the day of Lee’s funeral.
The trade deal would be a giant step for the four Southeast Asian countries currently in talks.
By Hunter Marston
July 27, 2015 TD
Image Credit: U.S. Department of State
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) made it through its toughest hurdle in the U.S. Congress last month, after the House and Senate both voted in favor of granting President Barack Obama Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), otherwise known as “fast track,” the ability to negotiate the TPP and other trade deals with foreign countries.
Touted as a “21st century trade agreement,” the TPP would bring together 12 nations, including the United States and Japan, encompassing 40 percent of global trade under a progressive, far-reaching free trade deal.
Environmental groups, labor unions, and anti-trade activists, have vociferously opposed the “fast track” bill. In contrast, foreign policy analysts in Washington have generally been in favor of the TPP. They argue that failure to reach a free trade agreement with Asian economies would allow China to set the global norms, fearing China’s mercantilist foreign policy would neglect environmental standards, labor rights, and intellectual property rights, and set a low bar for global standards.
Few have paused to consider what the TPP means for the four Southeast Asian nations in negotiations: Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei. A range of issues are at stake, from currency manipulation to regulation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), which have particular relevance for Southeast Asia’s state-centric economies. The TPP could bring about significant financial and social reforms to these countries, opening the playing field to foreign investors while introducing progressive labor standards and environmental protections.
Many of the rising “tigers,” as Asian economic powers like Singapore came to be known following rapid growth in the last half-century, benefited from protectionist policies and high tariffs reducing foreign competition. Vietnam and Malaysia in particular maintain some of the world’s highest tariffs and non-tariff barriers (NTBs) against foreign businesses. So why would these economies want to open their doors to change now?
០១ សីហា ២០១៥ / 01 August 2015 - Border issue (see summary in English).
បីដំណាក់កាល ក្នុងការងារបច្ចេកទេសនិងនយោបាយ ដើម្បីការពារបូរណភាពទឹកដី នៃប្រទេសកម្ពុជា / Three steps in the technical and political work to defend Cambodia’s territorial integrity.
ការងារបច្ចេកទេសនិងនយោបាយ ដើម្បីការពារបូរណភាពទឹកដី នៃប្រទេសកម្ពុជា មានបីដំណាក់កាល ដាច់ពីគ្នា ដូចតទៅ ៖
១- ជ្រើសរើសផែនទីជាមូលដ្ឋាន យកមកធ្វើការ ឲ្យស្របទៅនឹងផែនទីដូចមានបញ្ជាក់ ក្នុងមាត្រាទី២ នៃរដ្ឋធម្មនុញ្ញ នៃព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា គឺផេនទីបារាំង ខ្នាត ១/១០០.០០០ ធ្វើឡើងក្នុងចន្លោះឆ្នាំ ១៩៣៣-១៩៥៣។ Firstly, choose the right maps to work on, which are the French-era 1/100,000 maps produced between 1933 and 1953, as specified in the Constitution.
២- ពេលណាបានជ្រើសរើសផែនទីត្រឹមត្រូវហើយ អាជ្ញាធរខ្មែរយើងត្រូវធ្វើការវាស់វែង នៅទីកន្លែង គឺនៅតាមបណ្តោយព្រំដែន ដោយប្រើបច្ចេកទេសទំនើប (GPS) ដើម្បីកំណត់ទីតាំង នៃបង្គោលព្រំដែន ដែលត្រូវបែងចែកទឹកដីរវាងប្រទេសកម្ពុជា និងប្រទេសជិតខាង។ នៅទីតាំងនីមួយៗ អាជ្ញាធរត្រូវស្រង់និយាមការ (coordinates) នៃចំណុចទាំងនោះ យកមកដាក់បញ្ចូលក្នុងកម្មវិធីកុំព្យូរទ័រ (computer programs) ដែលមានដាក់បញ្ចូលផែនទីត្រឹមត្រូវផងដែរ (digitized maps) ដើម្បីផ្ទៀងផ្ទាត់ថា ចំណុចនីមួយៗ ដែលត្រូវបោះបង្គោលនោះ តើស្ថិតនៅចំពីលើបន្ទាត់ព្រំដែន ក្នុងផែនទីលើកញ្ចក់កុំព្យូទ័រ ឬក៏ស្ថិតនៅក្នុងទឹកដីនៃប្រទេសកម្ពុជា ឬក៏ស្ថិតនៅក្នុងទឹកដីប្រទេសជិតខាង។ Secondly, using modern technologies (GPS, digitized maps, appropriate computer programs), spot the exact places where border markers must be planted.
Cambodia’s population is expected to grow by 22 per cent to almost 19 million by 2030, while infant mortality is slated to decrease and life expectancy to increase, according to a UN report released on Wednesday.
In the newly published 2015 Revision of World Population Prospects by the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the Kingdom’s population is set to increase from its current 15,578,000 count in 2015 to 18,991,000 in 2030.
But while the country’s population is climbing, its rate of growth is predicted to taper off yearly as seen through the National Institute of Statistics’ (NIS) estimates.
“Population is indeed increasing but the increase in the next decades will be slower” as access to birth control and other family planning materials increases, said NIS Census Department Director They Kheam.
The DESA report noted that life expectancy will rise from 67.6 years in 2010-15 to 73.8 years in 2025-30. Infant mortality is also forecasted to decline from 29.9 per thousand in 2010-15 to 9.5 in 2025-30.
“The reason for this is the higher investment in programs dealing with health and safety and the reduction of mortality among the population,” Kheam said.
Om Chy gives his testimony before the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia in Case 002/02 against Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan yesterday in Phnom Penh. ECCC
Fri, 31 July 2015 ppp
Rebecca Moss
Khim Vat was 29 when the Khmer Rouge regime fell. She was loaded into a military truck at the Kampong Chhnang airport worksite that day, alongside pregnant women and children, and heard the sound of gunshots as the vehicle fled to the west.
During the second portion of her testimony before the Khmer Rouge tribunal yesterday, Vat, a former member of the communist militia, recalled the chaos of the Vietnamese invasion.
“Everyone tried to board a truck,” she said. “We thought we could not survive.”
Several women gave birth in the moving lorry.
“In my opinion at the time, capitalists were the rich and powerful . . . They oppressed us, and they did not let us have any freedom,” Vat said of her decision to supported the communist movement.
However, she described a similar enslavement under the Khmer Rouge leadership, including her forced marriage to a stranger disabled on the battlefield, and her demotion out of a military capacity and into the rice fields.
“I had no choice,” she said. “I would follow Angkar.”
By Khmer Wathanakam
www.khmerwathanak.blogspot.com
[Image www.rfa.org]
Since Hun Sen has summoned his top military and
police officers to pay their loyalty to him in order to protect the
constitution, his legitimate government, and to crackdown on all kinds
of suspected color revolution, Hun Sen's speech has been echoed by many
government spokesmen including defense minister Tea Banh, but a more
brazen claim from a four-stars General, Chea Dara, declared that the
Royal Armed Forces belong to CPP because Hun Sen supports, raises, and
leads the armed forces is deviating too far. What Chea Dara has said is
tantamount to a constitutional coup, for Cambodian constitution states
that the Royal Armed Forces belong to the nation, not any leader or a
party. Thus those military officers who dared to profess their loyalty
to any leader or political party while they get salaries from tax payers
(the People), they should relinquish their position and title and go to
work for those leaders and parties. There is no space for politics in
the army and police in any democratic country. They must be neutral and
independent from all political parties. They pledge allegiance to no
one but the constitution and the nation. Without such a principle in
their minds, those military and police officers would be the private
police and army officers who being used as tools to protect the
interests of a specific leader and political party, not the nation and
constitution. Consequently, the military and police institutions will
lose their integrity and trust from the people. To preserve the
integrity and neutrality of these key national institutions, all police
and military officers from the top to the low ranks should publicly
declare themselves as neutral and independent from all political parties
and leaders; they should not brazenly declared themselves loyal to any
party even the ruling party but only to the nation and the constitution
since the political parties and leaders can be changed or lost power in
every election, but the nation and constitution will last forever no
matter which party win or lose the election. What Gen. Chea Dara said
suggests that he doesn't understand a difference between the national
institution and political party.
School of Vice: VOA, unless I am mistaken, is some way behind its RFA sister on most fronts in terms of news production and volume. What are the reasons? Lack of funding? Keeping to a polite, low profile editorial agenda? Or just lack of interest in the pressing issues facing millions? Even the publishing of this video clip should have been done a while ago! OK, School of Vice is lazy most of the time and hardly a good example, but...
Seriously, if you are a news broadcasting institution and your main area of coverage happens to be a country like Cambodia then I would kindly suggest act and work proportional to its stress and dire circumstances. No one needs reminding that the country is perching precariously on the knife-edge of extinction. Thank you kindly!
A member of the Thai military marks a position to prepare for the welcoming ceremony of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung at Government House in Bangkok on July 23, 2015. (AFP PHOTO / PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKULPORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKUL/AFP/Getty Images
Critical thinking is seen, of course, as an essential skill for college and careers — but it is also essential in a healthy democracy. Here is a post about the Kingdom of Thailand, a country that straddles monarchy and democracy and where educators and politicians are grappling with how critical thinking should be taught in schools. Here’s a post on this issue by Tanika Panyarachun, a Thai school guidance counselor, and Jessica Lander, an American educator who taught at a Thai University. Both are recent graduates of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
When Thailand’s Armed Forces took over the country in 2014, military authorities declared that they would establish key reforms to ensure successful democracy — and the new government highlighted the need for educational reform. But any government that wants to lay a strong foundation for democracy should embrace education reforms that celebrate inquiry and ingenuity.
The military government created a list of “12 National Values,” and since last October has required that every student recite the values at the start of their school day. Critical thinking is conspicuously absent from the list. Instead, the values promote order, respect and honor of authority, discipline of body and mind, economic modesty, and selflessness.
Over the past 80 years, Thailand has striven to define its unique kind of democracy as a constitutional monarchy with a revered king, punctuated by a series of military coups. Thailand has successfully navigated the upheavals of the 20th century, establishing a stable and vibrant economy.
Insisting that students unquestioningly recite and internalize official values inhibits student’s ability to develop as independent thinkers. Intellectual curiosity – the drive to question and the tenacity to seek answers – is a skill that the Thai government should be nourishing in its next generation. It is needed by inventors, creators, entrepreneurs and leaders – and by an educated citizenry who can be active participants in healthy democracy.
Prisoners sit together at a detention facility in Hai Duong province as police officers look on, Aug. 30, 2013.
AFP
A man serving a prison sentence for stealing a cell phone has died at a detention center in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi, according to his sister, who said his body was in “terrible condition” after being beaten to death by authorities and called for an end to unjust killings in police custody.
Vu Nam Ninh, 45, died on July 20 at the No. 1 Detention Center in Ba Dinh district’s Ngoc Khanh ward, his sister Vu Thi Thanh Huyen told RFA’s Vietnamese Service, adding that she only learned of his death after visiting Hospital 198 the following day on the instruction of authorities.
When she arrived at the hospital, authorities told her family that Ninh was dead and that his death was the result of complications from an “illness.” But Huyen said that after inspecting her brother’s body, it was clear that he had been killed.
“When we arrived at the hospital, after reviewing my brother’s medical records, we knew that his death was caused by beating—not because of ‘being sick,’ as the authorities told us,” she said.
“His body was in terrible condition. His hands and his face were full of watery fluid … [He had a] broken leg and a broken collarbone.”
“We saw a lot of bruises on his back, and some spots that seemed to have been caused by shocks from electric batons. A finger on his left hand was broken and he had blood in his nose and ear.”
It was unclear whether Ninh had any history of illness.
2015-07-10 RFA UPDATED at 1:20 p.m. EST on 2015-07-13
Le Thi Cham, 54, is pinned down under a bulldozer track during a protest in Hai Duong province, July 10, 2015.
Screenshot of video posted by an RFA listener.
A 54-year-old Vietnamese woman sustained serious injuries when she was pinned down by by a bulldozer last week while she and fellow farmers were protesting the confiscation of farmland in northern Vietnam.
In an incident filmed by witnesses and posted on Youtube, Le Thi Cham is seen pinned under the bulldozer's track while she and dozens of farmers shout in vain to get the driver to stop. Initial reports in Vietnamese media said she had died in hospital later, but a citizen journalist filmed her several days later in her hospital bed, where she was recovering from critical injuries.
"There were a lot of people there, all trying to stop the bulldozer. I tripped and fell. I think the driver knew I was there, but I guess he just ignored me," she said, in video obtained by RFA's Vietnamese Service.
According to Vietnamese state media, the farmers were protesting over the meager compensation for farmland seized to build an industrial park in Cam Dien, Hai Duong province, about 60 km (36 miles) from the capital Hanoi.
Land grabs in which government officials use their authority to confiscate and sell land to developers are a common cause of social unrest across Southeast Asia and China, with cases causes small- and-large scale protests on an almost weekly basis.
In many cases, local villagers say they receive little compensation or less than was promised by authorities and are forced to vacate fertile land for less-productive parcels far from their places of origin and with poor infrastructure.
Reported by RFA's Vietnamese Service. Translated by Minh-Ha Le. Written in English by Paul Eckert. CORRECTION: Initial reports had said Le Thi Cham had died from her injuries.
China's neighbours fear Beijing will use its financial prowess to gain geopolitical subservience.
10 Jul 2015
China may gain a strategic foothold in the important sectors of economies across the region, writes Heydarian [Reuters]
Richard Javad Heydarian is a specialist in Asian geopolitical/economic affairs.
@Richeydarian
Earlier this year, China was painfully isolated during the Shangri-La Dialogue (Asia's premiere security forum), with Beijing's massive reclamation activities in the South China Sea coming under criticism from almost all quarters.
The United States' newly-installed Secretary of Defense, Ashton Carter, triumphantly declared Washington's efforts to secure freedom of navigation in international waters by challenging China's growing grip on contested features and waters in the South China Sea. But recent weeks have been good to China, allowing the Asian powerhouse to project economic leadership across Asia and beyond.
China officially launched the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a key component of the Xi Jinping administration's plan to turn China into a pillar of the Asian order. China's National People's Congress also just approved the New Development Bank, a key economic initiative of emerging powers of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
Peripheral dipomacy
Blessed with up to $4 trillion in currency reserves, Beijing is expected to splurge even more funds on its ultimate pet project, the modern revival of the Silk Road under the "One Road, One Belt" initiative, which will transform Beijing into a core element of infrastructure development and transregional connectivity across Eurasian landmass as well as the Pacific to the Mediterranean waters.
All these initiatives are part of the so-called "peripheral diplomacy", which Xi announced in 2013 and is carefully designed to win the favour of estranged neighbours and consolidate Beijing's influence over longtime partners. But not all of China's neighbours are impressed, with the Philippines and Japan openly expressing their continued reservations over Beijing's growing economic clout in Asia.
On a practical level, the AIIB is a mechanism for China to invest its massive financial resource in more tangible assets such as infrastructure. Volatilities in global currency markets have repeatedly threatened the value of China's multi-trillion-dollar reserves.
Not all neighbouring countries were enthusiastic to sign up for China's new bank.
Channelling its resources through multilateral institutions will also allow China to gain a strategic foothold in the important sectors of economies across the region. Given Asia's estimated $8 trillion infrastructure spending gap, China's financial resources are a dire necessity to revamp the regional economic landscape.
Hanoi and Washington are more than eager to join forces in pushing back against a rising China.
Obama has astutely transformed former enemies into major strategic partners, writes Heydarian [AP]
BOUT THE AUTHOR
Richard Javad Heydarian is a specialist in Asian geopolitical/economic affairs.
@Richeydarian
Forty years after the end of Vietnam War, which claimed countless lives and bitterly divided American society, two former enemies have come closer than ever to a full-fledged strategic partnership. Recently, Vietnam's General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, the country's ideological leader, embarked on a historic trip to the White House, where he was cordially received by US President Barack Obama.
It marked the first trip by Vietnam's Communist Party chief to the United States, reflecting how far the two countries have come in shelving their past animosities in favour of a new beginning. Without a doubt, the meeting represented a seismic shift in the strategic orientation of both powers - and the beginning of a new era in Asia's rapidly evolving power plays.
More than anything, the underlying logic of closer US-Vietnamese relations is a shared concern with the rise of China, which has precipitated a significant rise in territorial tensions across the Western Pacific.
Following the age-old (Middle Eastern) dictum "the enemy of my enemy is my friend", Hanoi and Washington are more than eager to join their forces in pushing back against a rising superpower, which is upending the post-Cold War order in Asia.
A new beginning
Back in his early days in office, Obama promised to extend an olive branch to rivals, who choose to unclench their fist. His bold diplomatic initiatives has paved the way for normalisation of ties (after 50 years) with the communist regime of Cuba and, even more astonishingly, unprecedented diplomatic exchanges with the Islamic Republic of Iran on a whole range of issues, from nuclear non-proliferation to counter-terrorism. The US Secretary of State John Kerry has spent more time with his Iranian counterpart, Javad Zarif, than any other foreign minister.
What is less appreciated about Obama, however, is how he has astutely transformed former enemies into major strategic partners in recent years. For the past two decades, Vietnam has no longer been considered as a US rival. The US in fact became a major export market for Vietnam's burgeoning textiles and manufacturing sector. But they haven't been exactly friends either.
For long, Hanoi's communist leadership was intent on preserving close diplomatic ties with Beijing, a major trading partner, and largely shunned robust security cooperation with Washington in order to preserve its independence and appease China. Maintaining cordial ties with their fellow communist northern neighbour was particularly importance, since China became the primary source of investments, trade, and technology.
Cognisant of Vietnam's acute strategic dilemma, the Obama administration skilfully shepherded closer strategic ties with its former enemy.
But as Vietnam's economy became excessively dependent on China, long-dormant maritime territorial disputes between the two neighbours began to resurface in the late 2000s, culminating in the "oil rig" crisis of mid-2014, which almost sparked a military confrontation.
The eagle steps in
Cognisant of Vietnam's acute strategic dilemma, the Obama administration skilfully shepherded closer strategic ties with its former enemy.
Cambodia-Vietnam relations have long been turbulent. Occupation, conflict and political meddling have been hallmarks of the relationship, and disagreement about the border has long been a bone of contention. Last year a group of 600 protesters burned a Vietnamese flag outside the embassy in Phnom Penh, earning a strong rebuke from Hanoi.
Tensions have continued to simmer since. In June, Cambodian activists clashed with Vietnamese villagers in Svay Rieng province, which lies between Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh City, while Cambodian police looked on (raw footage here; read an excellent article on anti-Vietnamese sentiment in Cambodia here). This week, tensions have also bubbled over around maritime borders.
Both Hanoi and Phnom Penh are seeking a speedy resolution to demarcate the problematic land border. The process is 80% complete. Yet as it draws closer to being finalised there is an increasing risk of further problems. Following a three-day meeting in early July, the two parties agreed to complete the demarcation 'very soon'.
But given the highly politicised nature of the issue, that deadline may prove difficult to meet. The border dispute is testing Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen. Memories are long and many Cambodians still see him as a Vietnamese puppet (he was part of the the government installed by Hanoi following the Vietnamese overthrow of the Khmer Rouge in 1979). Anger will grow if the border deal isn't seen as favourable.
Sam Rainsy, the opposition leader, has for almost two decades employed xenophobic rhetoric against the Vietnamese.
As Cambodian grade 12 students prepare for the national exam after last year’s crackdown on rampant cheating, Post Plus sat down with Education Ministry Spokesman Ros Salin to talk about how the reforms will continue to be carried out, his expectations for this year and what ongoing measures are being undertaken to change Cambodia’s education system ahead of the ASEAN Integration.
It has been close to a year since the crackdown on exam cheating was initiated, a reform that had huge effects on the rate of students that passed. How many students and teachers will participate in the exam this year?
This year there are 8,488 registered students for the exam and 150 centres divided into 3,576 rooms for the two day examination. We are still preparing the exact number of teachers who will be involved in the exams, and we’ll release the numbers next week.
How do you think the exams will fare this year?
I’m optimistic - I think the pass rate will be higher than last year. First of all, the students are all aware of the examination reforms and know they must be capable of doing the exam. If not, they will fail. Last year, some of them knew about it but weren’t aware that it was a real reform. The Ministry has also tried to build an awareness campaign through our website and our Facebook page.
Secondly, we have analysed the results of last year’s exam. We realised most of them did poorly in mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology. After that, the ministry invited the teachers to train in these four majors. We also prepared a guidebook for the students on these subjects, and we put the soft copy on our Facebook, so students can download it and study by themselves.
Thirdly, three months prior to the exam, we had an intensive class over the weekend. All provinces had this class, which was ran by volunteers, ex-students and teachers. In the exam, 237/500 is a pass, so if a student studies for the whole year, they can pass easily.
What will happen to those caught cheating?
When students go to exam centres in the morning, the teacher checks for smartphones and cheat sheets. Then before they go into the classroom, two teachers will call each student and check them again. Then all of them go into the classroom, and before the test, the teacher gives a final warning. If a student is caught cheating in the exam, he fails automatically. If students ask someone else to do the exam for them, they will be failed and won’t be able to retake the exam for another 2 years. There will be two teachers in the class, plus an observer.
Authorities enforce an eviction notice at Ochheuteal beach in November last year where vendors were asked to remove their stalls. PHOTO SUPPLIED
Once again, Ochheuteal beach vendors have been asked to remove their stalls or face forced eviction, according to a notice issued by Sihanoukville Governor Chin Sarin on Wednesday.
The 26 merchants and their families are left with a little over a week to clear out, with August 7 marked as the deadline.
Citing the need to “beautify” the beach for domestic and international tourists, the notice warned that refusal to comply would lead to authorities dismantling the structures without any liability for damaged property.
Phoeuk Sokhen, an Ochheuteal beach community representative and former vendor, said the merchants understand the need for development but also deserve adequate compensation.
Sokhen said vendors had rebuilt their stalls on the beach as an act of protest to seek compensation for the 32 stalls the government destroyed in 2006 in a previous round of evictions, purportedly worth tens of thousands of dollars.
“We are not against development, but they evicted us 10 years ago, dismantling the stalls without compensation,” she said.
“We spent at least $10,000 on our stalls. Some of us spent as much as $50,000.”
“Nearly 10 years have passed without any development, so we demand compensation,” she added.
Sarin said he did not know what development was planned for Ochheuteal beach.
“I just issued the notice, as instructed by the provincial government”, he added.
Protesters wait outside the Senate building last week in Phnom Penh as government officials vote on the controversial Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations. Vireak Mai
Cambodia has rebuked the United Nations after a UN office released a statement admonishing recent political developments in the Kingdom, while an opposition lawmaker is making a last-minute attempt to stop one of those developments from becoming law.
Last Friday, the Senate passed a draft NGO law that was viewed by rights groups as muzzling the sector, while on July 21, 11 opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party activists were sentenced to prison terms of seven to 20 years for a street protest that turned violent a year ago.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) lambasted both events on Monday.
“The draft law threatens the existence of a free and independent civil society in Cambodia and the crucial work that NGOs in the country carry out on development, governance, and human rights,” their statement reads.
The OHCHR also said it was “concerned” over the perception that the government had influenced the outcome of the trial of the 11 activists.
The Cambodian government did not take kindly to the criticism.
A statement from the Press and Quick Reaction Unit released yesterday condemned OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani for the statement.
“Shamdasani’s allegations are baseless and violate the principle of rule of law, and [the allegations] clearly disagree with the National Assembly, showing deep interference into the law’s process, because all laws must be adopted by the Assembly, the Senate, and signed by the King.”
