OPINION

All about control

Re: "Unlikely ally", (PostBag, Aug 7).

China developed the Sihanoukville port "hoping to win a friend", says ML Saksiri Kridakorn. He goes on to say, "China would not directly assist Cambodia in developing its military capabilities". This is a typically phrased apologist's portrayal of China as a benign actor on the world stage.

The truth is a different matter. Chinese companies control over a third of Cambodia's coastline. The dual use (military and civilian) deep-water Sihanoukville port was designed to accommodate People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels, and the nearby Ream Port has had Chinese warships docked there since 2023.

PLAN conducted joint Golden Dragon military exercises from Sihanoukville in 2024 and China has gifted Cambodia two Type 56 corvettes thus "developing its military capabilities". Arms sales and military training also confirm the unstated policy of taking control of Cambodia by every means available.

Some 90% of the expatriate population of the greater Sihanoukville area is Chinese and most of the signage is in Mandarin. The Chinese funded the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway, and the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone (SSEZ) was financed by China's Ministry of Commerce and the Export-Import Bank of China.

Friendship does not play any role whatsoever. All they care about is control and dominance of every nation in the world; Cambodia is no exception.

Re: "Price of hedonism", (PostBag, Aug 1).

I continue to be baffled by Jason Jellison's objection to the embrace and "normalisation" of a gay lifestyle.

I really do wonder what his "decades of experience in the LGBTQ community" consist of, when his approach to being gay seems to be keeping your head down and wishing you were in a monogamous relationship with a family.

I realise that such values are not incompatible these days with being in any LGBTQ relationship, but it makes no sense to suggest that simply living openly as gay in any other circumstances leads to depravity and a dangerous assault on society.

I know from my own past experience that there are, at any one time, as many straight sex parties going on in the world as there are gay gatherings. And yes, drugs are almost always a part of those events.

I would argue the societal harm done by groups of like-minded people, whatever their proclivities, who gather in private is minimal. The effect of the drugs used is usually limited to the duration of the event.

I'm probably in a minority on this, against those who are anti-drugs, anti-gay and pro law-and-order, but my view is that these are victimless crimes and we should live and let live.

Re: "Israel's war within", (PostBag, Aug 8).

Bumpkhin concedes that "Yes, Hamas's atrocity on Oct 7 was despicable".

If an enemy which has declared its aim is the annihilation of Thais had crossed the border, butchering 1,200 people, torturing and raping hundreds of families and concert-goers, and gouging out eyes, Kuntree would not be so sanguine. Thai workers were among those murdered by Hamas.

A coordinated media campaign failed to report the details of Oct 7 by immediately focusing public opinion on Israeli "genocide".

No, Mr Bumpkhin, you do not understand.