 ASEAN may be forced to choose between US, China: Cambodia PM's son Bangkok (AFP) Nov 21, 2018 - Southeast Asian nations may soon have to "choose sides" between the US and China in their ongoing trade war, the political heir to Cambodia's strongman ruler Hun Sen warned Wednesday in rare public comments. Impoverished Cambodia has become an unlikely staging ground for geopolitical influence in Asia. In recent years it has turned into a key China ally, heading off criticism of the superpower over its claims to disputed seas in exchange for billions of dollars in investment and loans. While China has cosied up to Cambodia, the United States and the European Union have admonished Hun Sen, the nation's ruler for 33 years, for his increasingly authoritarian rule. In a rare speech outside of his country, his son, Hun Many warned the US-China trade spat may create lasting divisions in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). "Perhaps one day ASEAN would have to choose between US or China," Hun Many said in Bangkok. "How would we see the trade war spill or expanded in other areas? Surely it will pressure individual members of ASEAN or ASEAN as a whole to choose sides." The economic ripples of the trade spat between China and the US could destabilise global supply chain links in Southeast Asia, while a slump in Chinese spending would impact its trading partners. Cambodia's strongman Hun Sen has welcomed Chinese investment to pump-prime his country's economy. At the same time, he has accused the US of trying to foment revolution in Cambodia by supporting his critics. Both the US and EU decried the July elections, which were held without a credible opposition and gave Hun Sen another term in power. When asked which of the superpowers Cambodia would side with, the Australian-educated Hun Many demurred. "At the end of the day, it depends on those who are involved to take a more responsible approach for their decisions that affects the entire world," he said. Earlier this week, Hun Sen swatted away concerns that Beijing will construct a naval base off the southwest coast of Cambodia, which would provide ready access to the disputed South China Sea. Beijing claims most of the flashpoint area, infuriating the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan who all have competing claims to its islands and potentially resource-rich waters. Hun Many, who described himself as a "proud son", is widely believed to be in the running to one day replace his father. His elder brother, Manit, is the head of a military intelligence unit while Manet, the oldest, was promoted in September to the chief of joint staff of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces as well as the commander of the infantry army headquarters. But Many brushed aside the notion. "It is way too soon to say that I am in the next generation of leaders," he said.
|
The Maldives foreign minister will visit Beijing before the end of 2018, officials said Wednesday, likely seeking to renegotiate the archipelago's Chinese debt.
China has loaned billions of dollars to countries around the Indian Ocean and beyond for infrastructure development, stoking fears of a debt trap.
The new Maldives government of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has called for a review of Chinese-bankrolled projects initiated under predecessor Abdulla Yameen.
Former president Mohamed Nasheed, now Solih's mentor, has accused China of a land grab in the strategically placed Indian Ocean archipelago, and called a free-trade agreement (FTA) agreed with Beijing under Yameen one-sided.
The announcement of Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid's upcoming trip to China came after he held talks with the Chinese ambassador in Male, Zhang Lizhong, on Monday.
The duo "discussed progress of on-going Chinese projects... and future cooperation in areas of importance to the Maldives," the foreign ministry said without giving further details.
China's ambassador told the local Avas.mv website that in fact only about half of the Maldives' external debt pile of $1.2 billion was owed to Beijing.
He said the loans carried a two-percent interest rate and a five-year grace period, while also disputing claims of a debt trap.
"We have nothing to gain if a friendly country falls into debt," he said. "There is no single (piece of) evidence to support the so-called debt trap claim."
Solih's Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has said that the Maldives owes China around three billion dollars.
On Tuesday in Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the FTA, which still has to be ratified by the Maldives parliament, was "a mutually beneficial and win-win" agreement.
"We believe that the Maldivian government will make the right choice."
Neighbouring Sri Lanka was forced to hand over a loss-making port to a Chinese state-owned company last year on an 99-year lease after failing to repay a $1.4-billion Chinese loan.
Soon after taking office at the weekend, Solih warned of a "dire" economic crisis as he turned to India for help, signalling an end to the pro-China stance of his predecessor Yameen.
Solih, who was little known before his surprise election win, briefed India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi "on the dire economic situation" according to a joint statement after Saturday's swearing in attended by Modi.
India has been the country's traditional main ally but Yameen, whose iron-fisted rule saw a string of political rivals locked up or exiled and the press muzzled, moved closer to China.
str-burs-aj/stu/amu
Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
|
|
Tweet |
|
|
|
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Google
