Thread by @Xy5Z89

#Cambodia #China #DaraSakor #MilitaryBase #USA #Sanctions

The website of the coastal resort shows a luxurious holiday complex with a golf course, a hotel casino with a Greek pillar aesthetic and a helicopter landing pad.

But reports from the past few years suggest that the complex in the Cambodian town of Dara Sakor hardly attracts visitors and that the hotel was in need of renovation after just a few years.

But although the large-scale project on a remote stretch of coast in the poor Southeast Asian country appears to be a flop, it has drawn interest from the United States for some time.

In Washington there is speculation that the project could serve as a base for the Chinese navy in addition to being used as a tourist destination.

Washington has suspected for years that Beijing wants to set up its own military base in the poor neighboring country in Southeast Asia. Even at first glance,

it actually seems strange that a tourist destination that was virtually knocked out of the jungle should need a runway for large aircraft like the A380 and a deep-sea port. In the wake of the rapidly deteriorating relations with Beijing,

Washington has now reacted and imposed sanctions on the Chinese company behind the project. The Union Development Group, a company based in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin, was blacklisted this week.

The official justification for the move is primarily based on human rights violations and corruption in connection with the construction project. The real background seems to be the question of military use. In its announcement,

the US Treasury Department accused China of abusing the company "to advance its ambitions of global power projection". A permanent Chinese military presence endangers regional stability and the prospect of peaceful resolution of disputes,

maritime security and freedom of navigation. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused China of jeopardizing the security of America's partners and allies. In fact, it can be assumed that China does not want to leave it at its only global naval base in Djibouti, East Africa.

A base in Dara Sakor in Koh Kong province would be strategically located, with access to the South China Sea, where China and several neighboring countries argue over sea areas and islands, and not far south of the Malacca Strait. China promptly denied the allegations.

A spokesman for the Beijing State Department accused the United States of operating hundreds of military bases around the world. "The hypocrisy and double standards are disgusting," said spokesman Wang Wenbin.

The United States used pretexts "to illegally punish Chinese companies with evil intent to contain and suppress China." What is striking, however, is not only the size of the project, which will encompass 36,000 hectares of land and around 20 percent of the Cambodian coast.

The company was leased the land for 99 years in 2008. It is also clear that the project was marketed as part of the “New Silk Road”, the Chinese investment and trade initiative. The Americans therefore put it in the context of “exploitative investments” by China.

Like many other parts of the initiative, China in particular is using it and is at the expense of the people in the country itself.

One of the reasons for the action against the Union Development Group is that villagers were intimidated with the help of the military and driven from their land. The legal framework for the sanctions is the Magnitsky Act,

which allows America to punish people and companies for human rights abuses and corruption, even if they were committed in another country. Indeed, for several years now Washington has not spared criticism of the disregard for human rights and political freedoms in Cambodia.

Cambodias Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has ruled for more than three decades, is increasingly authoritarian against his critics. He apparently feels protected by his close ally, China.

However, the head of government had previously denied that there were plans for a Chinese military base in the country. Hun Sen pointed out that the Cambodian constitution forbids the stationing of foreign troops.

However, the "Wall Street Journal" had already reported in July 2019 of a "secret agreement" between China and Cambodia, according to which the Chinese military would be allowed to use a naval base on the Cambodian coast.

At that time, however, there was talk of another place on the coast.