Cambodia looks to reset ties with US
03 Jun 2021, 05:55 GMT+10
Singapore, June 3 (ANI): Cambodia, China s closest ally in south-east Asia, looks to reset ties with US amid a landmark visit to Phnom Penh by US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.
Chris Barrett writing in The Sydney Morning Herald said Cambodia is viewed as vassal of China, but there are signs emerging of discomfort from within the one-party south-east Asian nation about its over-dependence on the superpower.
The visit of Sherman on Tuesday coincided with a column from Prime Minister Hun Sen in Cambodia s state-owned news agency. It said it was time for the US and Cambodia, in China s shadow, to reset ties , reported The Sydney Morning Herald.
16 Chinese Warplanes Intrude Malaysian Airspace, Overfly Disputed Shoals By Meera Suresh
on June 02 2021 9:41 PM Malaysia scrambled fighter jets to intercept the Chinese air force transport planes that appeared off Borneo
In an apparent Chinese bid to flex its military muscle over the South China Sea, 16 People’s Liberation Army warplanes breached Malaysian airspace Monday.
The planes flew to the vicinity of the shoals administered by Malaysia in the South China Sea Monday, forcing the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) to scramble its fighter jets.
The apparent intrusion has angered Malaysia and its Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein Tuesday said he would summon China’s ambassador over the incident which it describes as a serious threat to national sovereignty and flight safety, reports CNN.
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Singapore: Cambodia has indicated a desire to shift out of the shadow of Chinese patronage and pursue a closer relationship with the United States amid a landmark visit to Phnom Penh by US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.
Increasingly viewed as a vassal of China in its pursuit of regional hegemony, there are signs emerging of discomfort from within the one-party south-east Asian nation about its over-dependence on the superpower.
Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen has made no apology for accepting Chinese investment.
Credit:AP
The visit of Sherman, scheduled for Tuesday, coincided with a column from Cambodia’s state-owned news agency highlighted on social media by Prime Minister Hun Sen. It said it was “time for the US and Cambodia, in China’s shadow, to reset ties”.
This handout photo from the Royal Malaysian Air Force, taken on May 31, 2021 and released on June 1, 2021, shows a Chinese air force Ilyushin Il-76 plane which, Malaysian authorities say, was in the airspace over Malaysia’s maritime zone near the coast of Sarawak state on Borneo Island. Handout/Royal Malaysian Air Force
Malaysia said Tuesday it would issue a diplomatic protest to Beijing after 16 Chinese military planes “intruded” into its maritime airspace over disputed South China Sea waters near Borneo Island a day earlier.
Malaysian officials said that the Chinese aircraft flew to as close as 60 nautical miles from Kuala Lumpur-administered Beting Patinggi Ali – also known as Luconia Shoals – which Beijing, too, claims as part of its territories in the maritime region.