Seabees’ departure reflects dwindling US aid
The US embassy in Cambodia announced earlier this month that a US Navy aid unit was told to leave the country because the Royal Government of Cambodia made a decision to postpone its program indefinitely.
The US Naval Mobile Construction Battalion, more commonly known as the Seabees, has been engaged in community projects in the Southeast Asian nation since 2008. However, it, along with other US troops, has frequently been given the cold shoulder lately. US- Cambodia military cooperation and communication have either been delayed or suspended.
In a commentary piece the next day, the Cambodia Daily attributes the forced departure to Cambodia’s strategic shift toward China. But in actuality, incidents of this kind are not only caused by the Cambodian government’s US policy adjustment but also directly related to the nature of US foreign aid.
It is widely known that the US is one of the most powerful countries in providing international aid to Southeast Asian nations. The administration of former president Barack Obama reiterated on various occasions that it attached great importance to the geopolitically significant country. Indeed, the Obama administration managed to further the bilateral ties between the US and Southeast Asian countries including Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos, on the China- Indochina Peninsula.
But, what about aid? Officials from the previous US government pledged more than once to increase aid for Southeast Asia. Then secretary of defense Chuck Hagel claimed that Washington would expand its military aid and training in these countries and emphasized that the budget allocated for their security would rise by 50 percent from Obama’s first presidential term. In the end, the US delivered nothing but a lip service in terms of security.
Statistics show that US’ military assistance to Southeast Asia went down by 19 percent between 2010 and 2015. Only Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations received more aid.
Moreover, relevant aid was mainly concentrated in specific projects. For example, aid was largely used in mine sweeping projects while an enormous amount of assistance for Myanmar was distributed to mine sweeping, cracking down on drug planting and smuggling.
Thailand and the Philippines, two allies of the US, witnessed their military aid decline by 79.9 percent and 8.8 percent respectively. Aid for Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore also dropped by 51.7 percent, 58.2 percent and 71.4 percent respectively. For Cambodia, US military aid seems negligible.
In addition, the US aid always comes with a variety of strings attached, concerning political development, foreign policy and human rights. As can be seen, Washington has attempted to interfere in the domestic politics of Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries.
Therefore, though the US government has shown its concern for the region over the past eight years and its relations with several nations even enjoyed a honeymoon period during the first term of Obama’s presidency, the anti- US sentiments reached a record high in his second term.
Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines among other Southeast Asian countries often had fierce spats with the US in politics and human rights. As a result, they have gradually adjusted their US policies.
Seabees’ departure also indicates that Southeast Asian nations are seeking a rebalance to the Sino- US regional power struggle. More and more observers claim that countries in this strategically important region have been relying on China in economy while seek- ing support from the US in security. But this has imposed more strategic pressure upon China, in particular when the US defends the so- called freedom of navigation with force in the South China Sea.
For Southeast Asian nations, what they have felt is no longer the sense of security from US aid but a sense of insecurity from exacerbated wrangling between the US and China. That’s why they have chosen to continue their balancing strategy and adopt pragmatic adjustments, to ensure their own safety and gain more power for themselves.
Thanks to geological adjacency and endowment of natural resources, Southeast Asian countries like Cambodia has kept increasingly close economic and trade ties with China. As an underdeveloped country in Southeast Asia, it tends to take a ride on China’s rapid economic development to develop its own economy and improve its infrastructure with Chinese capital.
In the meantime, Cambodia and some other Southeast Asian countries have also experienced progress in defense cooperation with China. Now that the new US government has yet to form a clear Southeast Asia policy, it is natural that countries in this region favor deepening relations with China and promote interconnection and integration through dialogue and cooperation.