Cambodia Upgrades Diplomatic Relations With Japan
Prime Minister Hun Sen agreed to upgrade Cambodia’s diplomatic relations with Japan to a “strategic level” during talks in Tokyo on Sunday, but also thanked his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe, for making efforts to mend relations with neighbor China, according to media reports. During a state visit to Japan that ends today, Mr. Hun Sen also accepted $134 million in new loans for three infrastructure projects from Japan, Cambodia’s largest development aid donor. … The bilateral meeting between Mr. Hun Sen and Mr. Abe followed a one-day Asean-Japan Commemorative Summit at which Japan and the 10-member Asean bloc agreed to ensure “freedom of overflight” in the region, a move China is likely to take as a rebuke to the air defense identification zone it has unilaterally imposed over disputed waters between it and Japan. … Also according to AKP, the projects Japan signed up to pay for on Sunday included improvements to National Road 1 and Preah Sihanouk province’s referral hospital, as well as equipment to restore the western causeway at Angkor Wat. Japanese media reported that the development projects agreed to would include work on Cambodia’s power grid, irrigation facilities and a highway linking Phnom Penh with Thailand. Cambodian Defense Ministry Secretary of State Neang Phat was also on hand in Tokyo to sign an agreement on defense cooperation with his Japanese counterpart, though details on that deal were not available. Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan declined to comment Monday on whether closer ties with Japan or the “freedom of overflight” agreement might strain relations between Phnom Penh and Beijing, the country’s largest investor, and referred the question to Mr. Hun Sen’s Cabinet.
Phorn Bopha and Zsombor Peter
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/cambodia-upgrades-diplomatic-relations-with-japan-49386/
