Unlikely ally
Re: "Cambodia is 'cosying up to US'", (BP, Aug 4).
While the attention of most Thais is focused on the Hun family, the US Pacific Command (PACOM) is poised to sign a bilateral agreement with Cambodia that would likely lead to US troops' presence on Cambodian soil, which is another step towards the US effort to contain China.
In recent years, the US has been looking for a proxy in Southeast Asia to serve as a bulwark against China. While Thailand has refused to become a US proxy to avoid a situation similar to Ukraine, Cambodia has agreed to act as a US proxy in Southeast Asia in exchange for an economic lifeline and military parity with neighbouring Vietnam and Thailand.
In the past decade, China has made big investments in Cambodia, particularly in infrastructure development, such as the Sihanoukville Port Project, hoping to win a friend. However, as a policy, China would not directly assist Cambodia in developing its military capabilities, something Cambodia has long wanted. The US, on the other hand, has a record of helping to build military capacity and positioning its troops in other countries.
Cambodia obviously sees this as an easy decision to make. By following the US script designed to deflect attention from the real culprits behind the scenes, it gains an economic development path and military parity with its neighbours in one fell swoop. This likely scenario also explains the missing motive behind Cambodia's border actions against Thailand.
There is no need to debate whether this explanation is plausible. The speed of each step taken by PACOM since February shows this project has high priority. We will soon enough find out through PACOM's next move with Cambodia.
