Eight US lawmakers wrote to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo this week to call on the outgoing Trump administration to impose targeted sanctions against senior Cambodian officials and look into revoking the country’s trade privileges.
With US-Cambodia relations deteriorating once again in recent months, after attempts at rapprochement last year, and Washington at near fever-pitch over rumors that Chinese troops could one day be stationed in the country, this letter raises fears that it may be a last diplomatic overture from the Americans before more serious reprisals follow.
“The US government must respond in concert with its allies to send a strong message to [Prime Minister] Hun Sen that his crackdown on opposition and freedom of speech is unacceptable,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter earlier this week.
In full: https://asiatimes.com/2020/11/america-makes-last-call-for-reform-in-cambodia/