Cambodia dismisses graft sanctions

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodia on Thursday dismissed as “politically motivated” sanctions imposed by the United States on two senior defense officials over allegations of graft, accompanied by a broader warning of systemic corruption in the Southeast Asian nation.

Government spokesman Phay Siphan said Cambodia had not been told in advance about the sanctions, which are related to construction financing at the Ream Naval Base — a project that has raised U. S. concerns over China’s involvement. He said Cambodia did not intend to respond to Washington.

“These sanctions were politically motivated and it is not the position of Cambodia to talk with the U.S. on this matter,” he said.

The U. S. Embassy in Phnom Penh would not comment on whether Cambodia had been in contact regarding the sanctions but said that the move would not have come as a surprise.

“U. S. officials have regularly raised concerns with Cambodia’s officials about systemic corruption, transnational organized crime and human rights abuses,” embassy spokesman Chad Roedemeier said.

“Regrettably, there have been no meaningful changes,” he added.

The sanctions, announced Wednesday by the U.S. Treasury Department, target Chau Phirun, the director general of the Defense Ministry’s material and technical services department, and Tea Vinh, the commander of the Royal Cambodian Navy and brother of Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh.

The Treasury Department alleged that in 2020-21, Chau conspired with Tea and other Cambodian officials to inflate costs of the Ream Naval Base construction project and then planned to use the funds for their own benefit.

“Chau and Tea were involved in corrupt acts that undermined the rule of law and the Cambodian public’s faith in their government institutions and public processes, including by using their political influence and official power for personal benefit,” U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

Neither the Cambodian Defense Ministry nor the Royal Cambodian Navy could immediately be reached for comment.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin defended what he called “equal and mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Cambodia” on the project and accused the U.S. of interfering in Cambodia’s affairs by levying sanctions.

“China has always opposed unilateral sanctions and the so-called long-arm jurisdiction of the U. S., as well as its gross interference in other countries’ internal affairs,” he said at a daily briefing in Beijing.

The sanctions render Chau, Tea and their immediate family members ineligible for entry into the U.S., and freeze any assets in the U.S. that they hold. The Treasury Department did not detail whether either individual or their immediate families had financial interests in the U.S.

In addition to the sanctions, the Treasury Department, State Department and Commerce Department issued a business advisory cautioning U.S. firms “to be mindful of interactions with entities involved in corrupt business practices, criminal activities and human rights abuses.”

It identified two primary areas of risk: illegal financial activities in the financial, real estate, casino and infrastructure sectors, and entities involved in the trafficking of humans, wildlife and narcotics and “related risks in some areas of the manufacturing and timber sectors.”

American relations with the government of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has been in office for 36 years, have long been frosty over concerns about the country’s poor record on human and political rights.