Japan's PM visits Cambodia, also one of China's key partners
On Sunday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in Cambodia for talks with his counterpart, Hun Sen, to strengthen ties with one of China and Japan's closest partners in Southeast Asia. According to Cambodian officials, Kishida and Hun Sen discussed cooperation in trade and investment, education, infrastructure, defense and security, and post-pandemic recovery. Japan, Cambodia's second-largest donor after China, has funded the construction of bridges across the Mekong River, main roads connecting Phnom Penh with provinces, the country's main Sihanoukville port, and the capital's clean water and sewage systems. However, Japan and the United States are both concerned about China's growing military assertiveness in the region. In Cambodia, the United States has recently focused on China's construction of new facilities at Ream Naval Base, as well as the possibility of its military having future basing rights there. Ream faces the Gulf of Thailand, which borders the South China Sea, where China is embroiled in territorial disputes with its smaller Southeast Asian neighbors. Cambodia generally supports Beijing's geopolitical positions, and Beijing's support for Hun Sen allows the country to disregard Western concerns about its poor human and political rights record. Kishida's visit came three days after two Japanese naval ships left Ream Naval Base, where the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force trained Cambodian counterparts in demining. Japan has spent millions of dollars clearing mines in Cambodia in the aftermath of the 1975-1979 genocide, which killed an estimated 1.7 million people, and the subsequent civil war. Japan also contributed funds to the United Nations-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal. Japan has recently donated 1.3 million doses of coronavirus vaccine to Cambodia. Kishida and his delegation laid a wreath at the Independence Monument and paid tribute to King Norodom Sihanouk at the Royal Memorial Statue.