U.S. Department of State Roundtable on Cambodia March 26, 2025: Statements by the Khmer community

The U.S. Department of State asked the Khmer community to identify the need urgent attention and action in Cambodia today. Five key issues have been identified, and a member and leader of the Khmer community will present one of the five issues.

Issue 1: Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity

Presented by Saunora Prum, Dharmiq Institute of Technology, USA

We appreciate the willingness and effort of the US State Department to work with the Khmer community to determine how the US government can more effectively address the issues deserving priority attention in Cambodia. 

A growing concern for the Khmer community is the increasingly serious incursions by China and Vietnam against Cambodia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. China’s expanding naval base at Siem Reap is the most obvious and serious violation of this kind, but there are other numerous military installations of this same type throughout Cambodia that need to be addressed. 

Land concessions resulting in land grabs and large inflows of Chinese and Vietnamese military and civilian personnel are a major part of the problem. These actions destroy and threaten Cambodia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. They intrude on the population and take away jobs. Most important, from the United States government’s perspective is that they involve major expansions of China’s and Vietnam’s military efforts and influence in Southeast Asia. 

The US government has a substantial and direct interest in stopping these violations and countering China’s and Vietnam’s military expansion throughout the region. Cambodia has become the focal point for China’s military goals in this part of the world. 

I do not need to remind the US State Department that similar military expansion and threats from Vietnam at the end of the Vietnam War were a major reason that led to the organization of the Paris Peace Conference, which resulted in the 1991 Paris Peace Accords. These accords prohibited the type of military expansion into Cambodia that is now happening on an even broader scale then what occurred in the 1980s and 1990s—this time led by China. 

Join us in stopping these major military and economic incursions into Cambodia. Join us in protecting the principles of preserving peace, stability and non-militarism that the Paris Peace Accords were built upon. 

This issue of Cambodia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity stands at the head of the list for the US government and the Khmer community to address today. 

Issue 2: Destruction of Democracy, Rule of Law and Human Rights

Presented by Sarath Mounh, political opposition, Canada

An urgent and high-priority issue facing Cambodia today is the systematic destruction of democracy, the rule of law, and human rights by the Hun Manet and Hun Sen government. Their systematic elimination of political opposition, the conducting of mass criminal trials of critics and opposition members, and the shutdown of independent media outlets are just the tip of the iceberg in the Hun Sen government’s broader effort to eliminate democracy and human rights in Cambodia—a campaign that culminated in the 2023 national election, which they turned into a farce. These are just the latest manifestations of the long-term, historical efforts by the Hun Sen and Hun Manet regime to undermine Cambodia’s democratic process and to embrace a lasting and highly repressive family dictatorship. 

The US has a strong interest in supporting and promoting democracy and human rights in Southeast Asia—especially in Cambodia—and in countering the autocratic, communist-inspired approach to governance being promoted by China and Vietnam at this critical point. The US government and the Khmer community cannot allow Cambodia to become a pawn and puppet at the hands of the communist regimes of China and Vietnam. 

Issue 3: Land Evictions

Presented by Kimsor Lim, youth environmental activist from Mother Nature and Cambodian refugee, Thailand

Amnesty International, through its recent and highly successful Angkor Wat initiative, has finally brought the longstanding issue of illegal land evictions off the back burner and given it the international attention it deserves. However, the mass illegal evictions of 10,000 families documented by Amnesty International in Angkor Wat are just one small example of this ongoing problem. Many more communities and sites throughout Cambodia are affected in the same way. The US government needs to support and expand on Amnesty International’s efforts in this critical area. 

Issue 4: Transnational Repression

Presented by Sokhem Sor, youth activist and advocate and Cambodian refugee, South Korea

There is an emerging issue of concern for the international Khmer community which is the increasing use of coercion and force against refugees and expatriate members of the Khmer community living abroad. The well-known cases of enforced repatriation of Cambodian refugees in Thailand are clear examples of this growing problem. Now, these cross-border attacks and incidents of coercion are now increasing and expanding in South Korea, Japan and other foreign nations.

The US has a direct interest in stopping these foreign incursions. Allowing these cross-border incursions to continue threatens peace and stability in Southeast Asia and other regions of the world. The rule of law is threatened by allowing these incursions to take place, which is a key element of US foreign policy. 

Issue 5: Economic Issue

Presented by Hong Lim, former Member of Parliament of Victoria, Australia

An important issue that needs to be raised with the US State Department is the use of economic tools and pressures by the US government. Not enough has been done in this area. There is a strong and growing consensus in the Khmer community that much more needs to be done by the US government on the economic side to promote meaningful change and put effective pressure on the Hun Manet and Hun Sen government.

The recent “18 brands initiative” by leading international companies doing business with Cambodia was one example of how this can be done effectively. So was Samantha Power’s linking of US assistance more effectively to the release of political prisoners imprisoned because of the mass trial approach by the Hun Sen government. 

What is new in this area is the Khmer community’s growing support for the position that economic tools and pressures need to be used more effectively. Therefore, the US government must link grants, economic support and other economic efforts to progress on human rights by the Hun Manet and Hun Sen government. Signs that the benefits of the aid provided by the US government are actually reaching the people of Cambodia in a meaningful way must be demonstrated. The US government should withhold all assistance to Cambodia absent meaningful and effective changes by the Hun Manet and Hun Sen regime and clear indicators that economic support is actually reaching the people. The people on the ground in Cambodia are not benefitting from the great majority of the foreign assistance, which largely ends up in the pockets of the Hun Manet and Hun Sen regime and their friends, families and allies.