Cambodia Delays US Military Aid

14 August 2013
The Cambodia Daily
Aid and development / Bilateral development assistance / Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members / Government / International relations / United States aid
Australian Defense Force Academy / Australian Embassy / Boeng Kak Lake / Cambodia's People Party / Cambodia's State Department / Cambodia’s National Counter-Terrorism Special Forces / Council of Ministers / Council of Ministers Press and Quick Reaction Unit / CPP / Deputy Prime Minister Sok An / development aid / Development policies and administration / Ek Tha / Elections / FMF / Foreign Military Financing program / French Embassy / Government / international relations / International Relations Institute of Cambodia / IRIC / Japanese Embassy / Khieu Kanharith / Lao Meng Khin / Lieutenant General Hun Manet / Marie Harf / Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Ministry of Information / Ministry of National Defense / NEC / Nem Sowath / Phay Siphan / Phnom Penh / Prime Minister Hun Sen / RCAF / Royal Cambodian Armed Forces / Sean McIntosh / Sok Touch / South Korean Embassy / U.S. Ambassador William Todd / U.S. Embassy / U.S. State Department / UN / United Nations / United States aid / World Bank

Cambodia postponed U.S.-backed military assistance programs immediately after the July 28 national election, officials of both countries confirmed Tuesday, in a move that analysts said reflects a strain in relations after years of strengthening military ties.

The U.S. has in recent years expanded training and other funding for the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF), but the delay comes after U.S. lawmakers called for the U.S. to cut aid to Cambodia and the State Department’s insistence that allegations of irregularities at the polls last month should be credibly investigated.

In a press briefing in Washington on Monday, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the suspension of military assistance was a unilateral move by the Cambodian government.

“Following the elections, the Cambodian Ministry of Defense postponed or canceled a number of international military programs, including with the United States. We would not categorize the cancelation of programs as a suspension of military ties. We haven’t indicated that we would suspend military ties,” Ms. Harf said. …

The U.S. Embassy said it had been told some military programs involving the U.S. and other countries had simply been postponed until a new government is formed. But a Defense Ministry official said that only U.S. military aid programs were put back, and insisted that both Cambodia and the U.S. had agreed upon the delay.

The Ministry of National Defense on Tuesday morning called a press conference during which Lieutenant General Nem Sowath, director-general of the general department of policy and foreign affairs at the Defense Ministry, confirmed to reporters that some joint programs with the U.S. had been delayed. …

“I want to explain that the word delay is different from suspend or cancel. Delay means now we put it off until later,” Lt. Gen. Sowath added, declining to say when the delay would be over. …

He said Cambodia had received $477,000 of FMF money so far this year.

While the State Department does not publish up-to-date figures, in 2011, Cambodia was expected to receive $1 million of FMF funds in total. Total assistance from the U.S. to Cambodia was $76 million last year. …

U.S. Embassy spokesman Sean McIntosh declined to name other countries whose aid programs had been delayed and stressed that only “limited” programs had been delayed in Cambodia.

“The affected number of U.S.-Cambodia bilateral activities largely involved senior leadership engagement. Working-level events are continuing as planned,” he said by email. …

http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/cambodia-delays-us-military-assistance-39509/