Government
International relations
Cambodia taps Japanese blockchain tech for payment system
The National Bank of Cambodia will develop a blockchain-based payment system with help from a Japanese financial technology startup to offer people a secure, low-cost way of sending and receiving money. ...
Vietnamese PM to visit Cambodia next week
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will pay an official visit to Cambodia from April 24 to 26, said a Cambodian foreign ministry statement on Thursday. ...
Xu Xin
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-04/20/c_136224166.htm
India pumps in aid for cleaner water
The Indian government has honored its pledge to ensure rural people across four Cambodian provinces get desperately needed access to clean water. Yesterday marked the long-awaited arrival of 1,500 hand pumps which will be distributed to Tbong Khmum (1,250), Kampong Chhnang and Banteay Meanchey (100 ...
Ven Rathavong
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/37650/india-pumps-in-aid-for-cleaner-water/
Cambodian opposition expected to play on anti-vietnamese sentiment ahead of elections
Cambodia’s long-standing fear of Vietnam can sometimes appear to be borderline irrational and allegations of land grabbing, war-mongering, even contaminated food exports — alongside abusive insults — are often leveled at the eastern neighbors. That will only intensify as the commune elections get closer this ...
Troubled road project along Cambodia-Laos border rolls on
Work by military engineers on a contentious road skirting Cambodia’s border with Laos – which has prompted a military stand-off in the area – has quietly resumed, local officials say, even as run-ins between Cambodian and Lao military patrols in the disputed area have further ...
Shaun Turton and Mech Dara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/troubled-road-project-along-cambodia-laos-border-rolls
Government sounds off on critics in report, claiming detractors twist facts
The Foreign Affairs Ministry yesterday issued a scathing and wide-ranging rebuttal to longstanding accusations of human rights violations and political persecution, calling these allegations a campaign of misinformation led by foreign governments and institutions, particularly the United States, bent on regime change. ...
Ananth Baliga and Chhay Channyda
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/government-sounds-critics-report-claiming-detractors-twist-facts
Hun Sen endorses ‘One China’
Prime Minister Hun Sen has reaffirmed the country’s commitment to supporting Beijing’s One China policy during a meeting with a Chinese official, a stance one expert called “obsequious”. ...
Yesenia Amaro
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/hun-sen-endorses-one-china
World MPs see rights crisis in Kingdom
Two separate groups of international parliamentarians this week raised concerns over the state of democracy in Cambodia, seeing threats to pluralism and human rights in harassment of opposition politicians, trade unions and civil society activists. ...
Cristina Maza and Meas Sokchea
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/world-mps-see-rights-crisis-kingdom
Tension flares up again on Cambodia’s border with Laos
Dozens of Laotian soldiers started building a post on a disputed tract of land along the border on Thursday, breaking a deal made just a day earlier between Laos and Cambodia to withdraw forces until after the Khmer New Year. ...
Sek Odom
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/tension-flares-up-again-on-cambodias-border-with-laos-127704/
Acknowledging U.S. role in bombing, ambassador prioritizes demining efforts
William A. Heidt, U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia, says he is “very aware” of the historical role the United States played in the conflict in Cambodia, which is why he is seeking to prioritize the clearance of unexploded ordinance left behind by years of bombing. ...
Cambodia, Laos draw back troops in bid to avoid escalation at border
After a two-hour meeting, Cambodian and Lao provincial military and border officials yesterday reached an agreement to draw back forces from two undemarcated zones where the building of outposts had recently sparked military stand-offs, according to a general in the area. ...
Mech Dara and Shaun Turton
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/cambodia-laos-draw-back-troops-bid-avoid-escalation-border
Kingdom a warm respite for Russia
Increasingly hurt by sanctions and frozen out by the West over its meddling in Ukraine, Syria and the recent US presidential election, Russia is seeking to pivot to Asia and establishing a beachhead in a decidedly warmer locale – Cambodia. ...
Cristina Maza
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/kingdom-warm-respite-russia
China, Cambodia promise to deepen friendly ties
Vice Chairman Chen Changzhi pledged that China would continue to extend loans to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government, provide development aid, and encourage investment. ...
Ith Sothoeuth
http://www.voacambodia.com/a/china-cambodia-promise-to-deepen-friendly-ties/3794351.html
US Naval aid unit pushed out, Embassy says
Amid a widening gulf in U.S.-Cambodia relations, the U.S. Embassy said on Monday that a Navy unit specializing in humanitarian work had been forced to leave the country, imperiling hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of community projects, including the construction of maternity wards and ...
Michael Dickison and Sek Odom
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/us-naval-aid-unit-pushed-out-embassy-says-127486/
CMAC deminers, dogs going to work in Israel
The Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) will send demining experts and dogs to Israel today, as part of an apparent bid to improve relations between the two countries. ...
Touch Sokha
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/cmac-deminers-dogs-going-work-israel
Laos-Cambodia border closed over tensions
In the latest flare up in tensions between the two countries, Lao authorities temporarily shut a border crossing with Cambodia and dispatched more troops to an undemarcated area on the northern border after Cambodian authorities began renovating an old French border outpost. ...
Mech Dara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/laos-cambodia-border-closed-over-tensions
Cart pullers force Thai fee backdown
About 30 cart pullers at the Poipet International Border Checkpoint staged an hour-long protest yesterday demanding that Thai customs officials remove transit fees that have been in effect for about one month. ...
Pav Suy
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/37043/cart-pullers-force-thai-fee-backdown/
US, Cambodia trade reaches $3 billion
The trade volume between Cambodia and the United States in 2016 reached about $3 billion, while nearly 240,000 American tourists visited the kingdom. Foreign Ministry spokesman Chum Sounry told reporters yesterday after a meeting between Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn and Mom Rady, a Democratic member ...
Sum Manet
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/37034/us--cambodia-trade-reaches--3-billion/
ASEAN talks South China Sea in Siem Reap
Chinese and ASEAN representatives are meeting in Siem Reap to begin hammering out a code of conduct for the highly contested South China Sea. ...
Cristina Maza
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/asean-talks-south-china-sea-siem-reap
Beijing and Phnom Penh think about becoming sister cities
Phnom Penh and Beijing are in talks to become “sister cities”, chief of the Chinese Embassy’s political section Wang De Xin confirmed yesterday. ...
Jovina Chua
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/beijing-and-phnom-penh-think-about-becoming-sister-cities
Asean-China talks set for Cambodia
Cambodia will host the 20th Asean-China meeting aimed at boosting further discussions on the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) which could lead to finalizing the framework of the Code of Conduct (COC). ...
Cheang Sokha
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/36998/asean-china-talks-set-for-cambodia/
Cambodia opens trade center in Shaanxi
Cambodia will unveil another commercial center in China in May, to boost trade between the two countries and inform Chinese business people and tourists about opportunities in Cambodia. ...
Sok Chan
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/36933/cambodia-opens-trade-center-in-shaanxi/
Korea donates military vehicles
South Korea has given more than 200 military vehicles to Cambodia and nearly 200 more will arrive in July. The first batch were handed over yesterday at a ceremony at the Techo Hun Sen Military Technical Institute in Kampong Speu province. ...
Ven Rathavong
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/36849/korea-donates-military-vehicles/
South Korea-Funded Civil Aviation Training Center Inaugurated
A civil aviation training center was launched in Phnom Penh on Wednesday, three years after an agreement was signed with South Korea to fund the construction of the new facility. ...
Hang Sokunthea
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/s-korea-funded-civil-aviation-training-center-inaugurated-126918/