US eyes Cambodia
Re: "Cambodia 'cosying up to US'", (BP, Aug 4).
While Cambodian leaders are being used by the Thai news media to whip anti-Cambodian sentiments into a frenzy, they miss the more important point: the US is subtly expanding its military influence to counter China just next door to us.
In every global conflict, there are hidden motives, and it's essential to consider Cambodia's motivations. On its own, Cambodia has little to gain by destroying trade and relationships with its nearest neighbour for a few square metres of land with little economic value.
But Cambodia was never alone. The real beneficiary and culprit is the US via the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM).
PACOM, established as a post-World War II US initiative, aims to maintain a military presence in Southeast Asia. Thailand was the first Southeast Asian nation to join PACOM in 1954. Other early members included the United States, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Essentially, the US military runs PACOM, arguably more so than it does Nato in Europe.
Currently, PACOM's primary objective is to contain China. To achieve this, it needs a proxy in Southeast Asia. Given that the US has not been successful in direct pressure or through political parties with US interest-leaning support to force Thailand to diverge from its current foreign policies, Cambodia emerged as the next viable option -- a target for proxy engagement.
The timeline of recent events involving Cambodia and PACOM is worth taking a look at. It began with the visit of General Ronald P Clark, the Commanding General of the US Army Pacific, to Cambodia on Feb 26, where he met with Prime Minister Hun Manet -- a West Point graduate.
It was followed by the May 16 joint military exercise in Kampong Speu, from which Thailand was notably excluded, and advanced to another level in a recent Bilateral Defence Dialogue held on July 24-25.
Given this progression of events, it is reasonable to anticipate that Cambodia is on the brink of signing an agreement with PACOM or directly with the US. This pact will facilitate increased US military involvement in Cambodia's defence and potentially set the stage for establishing a military base on Cambodian soil.
