Cambodia Morning News For November 19

Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand eye developing coastal economy
The Private sectors in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand are planning to strengthen trade, transport, and tourism connectivity along the coasts and promote the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC).
— News Today (video)

Ministry of National Defense Rejects Foreign News, Accusing “Cambodia Allows Foreigners to Build Military Base in the the Kingdom”
The Ministry of National Defense issued a statement rejecting the publication of a number of foreign newspapers, including Asia Times, accusing Cambodia of allowing foreigners to use the country for military bases, according to the defense spokesman General Chum Socheat on Saturday.
— Fresh News

France and EU grant $96 million to Cambodia
The French government and the EU have granted Cambodia some $96.7 million as aid and loans for water management, agriculture, fisheries clean water and hygiene
— Khmer Times

Passport officer removed for riel rejection
The Interior Ministry’s General Department of Identification has transferred an official to the Passport Department for disciplinary reasons – she allegedly refused to accept Cambodian riel banknotes as fee payment.
— Khmer Times

Japan Provides US$4 Million for Landmines Clearance in 2019
In 2019, Japan has aided nearly US$4 million of demining assistance to CMAC, according to Heng Ratana, director-general of the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC).
— Fresh News

Cambodia and US discuss MIA Programme
Cambodia and the US conferred about recovering the remains of US servicemen classified “missing in action” since the Vietnam War. The meeting comes in the aftermath of Cambodia’s decision to resume the POW/MIA (prisoner of war/missing in action) programme.
— Khmer Times

Cambodia: Beijing-backed Project Won’t Include Chinese Base
The Cambodian military and government officials have denied a report claiming that a Beijing-backed development project would pave the way for a Chinese naval base in the country.
— VOA

Concerns over one-party budget approval
The Cambodian People’s Party (CPP)-controlled National Assembly approved the $6.7 billion national budget for next year on Thursday, but a former opposition lawmaker expressed concern for the future “consequences” of using state money without opposition scrutiny.
— Phnom Penh Post

City Hall issues vehicle ban for Water Festival
Phnom Penh Governor Khuong Sreng has restricted the travel of large vehicles and taxis operating on main roads during the upcoming Water Festival in a bid to reduce traffic in the capital.
— Khmer Times

Cambodia Releases Outcomes of Meeting between Cambodian Foreign Affairs Minister and US Deputy Secretary of State
On November 15, 2018, H.E. Prak Sokhonn, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia, met with H.E. John Sullivan, Deputy Secretary of State of the United States of America, on the sideline of the 33rd ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Singapore, according to Cambodian foreign affairs ministry’s press release dated on Sunday.
— Fresh News

River relocation request rejected
A request from the Khmer Vietnamese Association for the Interior Ministry to delay the relocation of Vietnamese families living on the Tonle Sap river in Kampong Chhnang province has been rejected.
— Khmer Times

Supply chain shift to Asean countries is accelerating
GLOBAL trade tensions continue to dominate this year’s headlines and the shift of production to efficient Asean countries is accelerating.
— Phnom Penh Post

Hun Sen to inaugurate final phase of ‘controversial’ dam
The government plans to inaugurate the controversial Lower Sesan II hydropower dam in the “middle of next month”, in a ceremony that will be presided over by Prime Minister Hun Sen, a Stung Treng provincial authority spokesman said on Wednesday.
— Phnom Penh Post

New life beckons for multilingual Cambodian boy at centre of viral video
In the ancient temple complex of Angkor, it is not often a new attraction emerges. But from the country’s most revered site, a new sensation has arrived – a young boy named Thuch Salik.
— Channel News Asia

There is still hope for Cambodia’s democracy
It is now just over a year since I was thrown into exile at the stroke of a pen.
— Al Jazeera

Authorities struggle to relocate river families
Interior Minister Sar Kheng yesterday said provincial authorities have faced challenges while relocating thousands of Khmer Cham and ethnic Vietnamese residents living on the Tonle Sap river in Kampong Chhnang province.
— Khmer Times

Ministry: Crackdowns on human trafficking crimes have declined
Crackdowns on human trafficking crimes have declined by about 15.5% in the first 10 months of this year, compared to the same period last year, a report released by the Interior Ministry’s National Committee for Counter-Trafficking (NCCT) said.
— Phnom Penh Post

PM: Asean Summit went well
The Prime Minister confirmed that the ASEAN Summit in Singapore had positive outcomes for the member states and Cambodia, in his Facebook post on Friday, Nov.16.
— Khmer Times

Minimum wage in vogue across Asia as debate rages on
With demand for sports shoes and inexpensive linen shirts showing little signs of slowing, and as Chinese send textile makers and other low-value industries packing, the immediate future for Cambodia’s garment sector looks rather buttoned down – for now.
— The Straits Times

Kingdom exported over 50,000 head of cattle from 2013 to last year
Cambodia exported a total of 56,724 head of cattle from 2013 to last year – making it good potential for the sector, said a Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries report.
— Phnom Penh Post

Experts weigh the record of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge tribunal
After spending nine years and more than $300 million to prosecute leaders of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge responsible for the deaths of 1.7 million of their countrymen, a U.N.-assisted tribunal has ended up convicting only three people for the communist group’s heinous actions.
— Hawaii News

Oxfam Formally Launches Blockchain Platform for Rice Farmers in Cambodia
Oxfam has launched a blockchain project for farmers dubbed BloCRice, which seeks to increase the bargaining power of farmers by digitally connecting every player in the supply chain on one platform, local Cambodian news outlet reports.
— CCN

Khmer Man Detained After Chinese Land Swindle
Kandal Province: Kandal provincial police detained Mr. Seng Sopheak, a 35-year-old man Cambodian national from Ang Snoul district, Kandal
— Cambodia News English

Khmer Rouge leaders found guilty of Cambodia genocide
For the first time, two leaders of Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia have been convicted of genocide.
— BBC

Pesticides Kill Cows in Rattanakiri
Rattanak Kiri Province: Six cows died are being poisoned. Pesticides used on cassava crops are suspected of causing the deaths.
— Cambodia News English

Study to shed light on air connectivity in Mekong region
New research will soon shed light on the challenges and opportunities in boosting the number of air links between Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and China.
— Khmer Times

Feature photo The Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity (CASC)

This week’s Cambodia morning news feature photo acknowledges International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women November 25

Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).

Cambodia morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Cambodia news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.