Cambodian Government Spokesperson Pasiphan
The Cambodian government has always taken a clear stance on the South China Sea issue, believing that it should be discussed within the China-ASEAN framework and should not be hyped on various international and regional occasions. Cambodian government spokesman Pasiphan visited China in mid-June. He spoke freely in an exclusive interview with a reporter from the Global Times, saying that China is the "big brother" of the ASEAN region and does not want anyone to interfere with China's development, nor does he want to see the third The three countries are involved in or interfere with the South China Sea issue. Pasiphan also refuted the Western statement that "Cambodia seems to want to sell itself to China", saying that Cambodia is a moderate country. No matter how others incite Cambodia to be hostile to China, Cambodia and China will always be friends.
China builds hydropower stations to help villagers escape from the jungle
Global Times: What is your overall impression of China? If you were asked to use a metaphor to describe the friendly relations between China and Cambodia, what would you say?
Pasipan: I have visited China twice, but this is my first time in Beijing. When I saw the Great Wall, I was deeply moved by the efforts made by the ancient Chinese for the peace and security of the country. No matter how dynasties change, the Chinese people always love peace and stability. Compared with the Great Wall of China and Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the latter carries more cultural elements, while the Great Wall records the Chinese people's firm determination to love a peaceful life.
China has gained independence and unity. Wherever the Chinese go, they bring peace, stability and economic growth, not violence. At the same time, China also regards Cambodia as an equal friend.
Global Times: China has aided and invested a lot in Cambodia, such as building roads and bridges. How have the Cambodian people reacted to this?
Pasipan: Due to inconvenient transportation, it used to take a week to travel from Phnom Penh to other remote provinces and cities, but now it only takes four or five hours. Cambodia was once divided into several parts by the Mekong River and the Tonle Sap River. Now, many bridges built with the help of China connect our country together. The roads built by China have also opened up transportation between Cambodia and Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, allowing Cambodia to gain equal status with these neighboring countries. China plays a vital role in our economic growth and the flow of goods.
Some accusations from the United States are that Cambodia seems to want to sell itself to China. This is not true. Western countries regard China as a country with a very poor human rights situation and suppress it, but Cambodia has learned a lot from China. I have never heard of China sending troops to occupy any country. All I have heard is that China sends engineers to build roads and bridges in other countries. Some voices blame the poor quality of the project on Chinese workers, but I saw them living in the jungle and working hard with blood and sweat. There are some bad middlemen in Cambodia taking away their money, and there is corruption among government officials. Cambodia is now very concerned about these issues and is fully committed to helping Chinese companies complete projects smoothly, with high standards and high credibility.
Global Times: There are different voices in Cambodia due to ecological, environmental, immigration and other issues regarding the secondary hydropower station on the lower reaches of the San River in Cambodia built by China. What is the attitude of the Cambodian government in this regard?
Pasiphan: Energy security plays an important role in Cambodia’s development and improvement of national life. But Cambodia is a paradise for global non-governmental organizations (NGOs). There are thousands of NGOs in the country, and some of them are trying to blame the Cambodian government and China through the dam project. Some NGOs hold foreign money and do not want Cambodia to benefit from China's development and help. They are even more worried about China establishing prestige in Cambodia or Southeast Asia.
There are many different solutions to help the villages next to the hydropower station, but outside forces are making things difficult for us. However, the Cambodian government is still insisting. We took the villagers out of the jungle to enjoy life in modern society and gave them good compensation. Do people just want to live in the jungle? I don't think so.
Global Times: In your opinion, how can we better promote Chinese private capital investment in Cambodia?
Pasiphan: I think the Cambodian and Chinese governments have sound policies to protect investment. Cambodia needs electricity, financial support, and infrastructure construction. As a core member of ASEAN, many of Cambodia’s policies are feasible for China.Cambodia is a moderate country. No matter how others push Cambodia to become an enemy of China, Cambodia and China will always be friends.
I don’t like any approach that isolates China.
Global Times: Recently, Japanese Prime Minister Abe tried to win over Southeast Asian countries to build an encirclement against China at the Shangri-La Dialogue. Do you think most Cambodia and ASEAN countries will follow Japan in doing this?
Pasiphan: Cambodia adheres to the constitutional principles of neutrality and non-alignment, abides by and supports the ASEAN Charter, respects the "South China Sea Code of Conduct", encourages China to dialogue with relevant countries, and hopes that the situation will be eased in an atmosphere of mutual understanding and in a peaceful manner. Solve problems. Cambodia also does not want to see third countries involved or interfering.
I appreciate what the Vietnamese Prime Minister said, "War is not an option." This shows that Vietnam understands the need to dialogue with China. ASEAN does not want to exclude Vietnam or the Philippines, but our view is to maintain dialogue. Even if they take disputes to court, they are unwilling to use force to resolve them. We do not like any approach that isolates China.
Global Times: If you were asked to use a metaphor to describe the relationship between China and ASEAN, what would you say?
Pasipan: There are 600 million people in ASEAN and 1.4 billion people in China, which adds up to 2 billion people. ASEAN needs China economically and security-wise. China is like a "big brother" in this region. We don't want anyone to interfere with China, we should focus on peace and cooperation.
Cambodians value stability
Global Times: What goals does Cambodia have for its own development?
Pasiphan: Since Cambodia joined ASEAN, Cambodia has only one goal from north to south - we need highways, human resources and mobility, and we must develop together with the other nine ASEAN countries. Our economy is still growing in traditional ways. We need technology and capital to develop us more industrially.
Global Times: In February this year, you strongly refuted the US human rights report’s criticism of Cambodia. Why?
Pasipan: The U.S. report is an offense to our country. They are NGOs, not the world police or the UN Security Council. Talking about human rights cannot be separated from culture. For example, we respect the elderly, but the West values the younger generation more. The culture is completely different. No matter how much Cambodia teaches people to respect human dignity, we who have ended the civil war value stability.
We learned a lot from the West's experience in Iraq, where they spent money and used bombs to impose democracy and human rights. But what success has the West achieved? Democracy is not about letting the people split up the government they elected. Human rights must be protected by the legal system, not by NGOs or some superpower. What we need are competent lawyers, judges, and prosecutors to avoid abuse of justice. (Gu Di)
