I am talking about the payments Total and BHP Billiton made to the Cambodian government for offshore exploration rights and mineral excavation rights, respectively. Similarly it appears some NGOs and Global Witness are up in arms about research to extract oil from the Tonle Sap. What rankles them most, judging from their statements, is the fact that both Total and BHP paid money to the government in connection for these rights. Ok, BHP is investigated by the SEC in the U.S. whether these payments constituted a bribe or whether it was a legitimate concession fee. Obviously, the deal with Cambodia did not come to fruition as the company withdrew its operations from the country. The Japanese company hasn’t paid anything yet but most likely will at a later date.
But the payments Total made should not raise any eyebrows. This is customary and quite within a country’s rights to sell exploration rights, which will usually lead to a partnership once oil has been found. The oil company will surely recover this comparatively paltry amount in no time.
Sorry, I can’t see anything wrong with BHP either. But then, admittedly, I don’t know all the facts, but neither do the people who go on barricades clamoring for transparency. It now has come to the point that whenever a payment is made to the government people raise their heads and cry foul, assuming that most of those funds will disappear in some government official’s pocket. Granted, Cambodia doesn’t have the best of reputations when it comes to corruption, but can’t we just wait for all the facts to come out first?
Then this Global Witness spokesman gave a telephone interview, speaking from London, where I am sure he is completely in the know, fearing that oil extraction in the Tonle Sap region will have negative environmental consequences or will not be of benefit to the people. He doesn’t even know exactly where this is going to happen. The Japanese responded that the area is not in the protected zone and an environmental impact study will be made. Shouldn’t that be enough?
I am not knocking Global Witness in general, but sometimes it seems they just seem to jump the gun a bit. Additionally, we don’t know either where the monies go that governments of other countries reap in for mineral rights. Sometimes governments auction off rights to the highest bidder; even telecom frequencies were sold this way. Now all of a sudden, it is not all right because this is Cambodia? Of course, the companies’ reticence doesn’t help either. They surely don’t win any PR awards this way.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
257 Military Trucks on the Political Chessboard
The U. S. had recently announced that it would withhold a shipment of used military trucks as Cambodia had purportedly not abided by international law and its own agreements when it extradited 20 Uygurs back to China. The Uyghurs, as we all know, are a persecuted Muslim minority in NE China whose religious and political freedom have been restricted by the Chinese government. However, Uyghur groups also staged a number of terrorist attacks in the 1990s in their fight for autonomy from China. Consequently, the Chinese government labels those groups terrorists. In 2007 Chinese troops killed 18 Uyghurs and claimed that Uyghurs planned to sabotage and disrupt the 2008 Olympics.
It was on those terrorist grounds that China requested the extradition of those Uyghur refugees from Cambodia. Cambodia obliged and promptly sent them back. Although it was claimed that this was in no way connected to the deportation of those Uyghurs, the subsequent Chinese aid agreements with Cambodia worth 1.2 billion may be subject to one’s individual interpretation.
Now, the previous U. S. government had detained 22 Uyghurs in Guantanamo until Nov. 2009 when 9 of them were released and sent to Palau. Previously five had been sent to Albania. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uyghur_detainees_in_Guantanamo for exact details.
It must be borne in mind that despite the U. S.’s claim that they were enemy combatants and, therefore, had no right to due process, it was clear to people familiar with their history that they were caught in the crossfire of the war on terror in Afghanistan and were held on the mere suspicion of being Al Qaida fighters – no hard evidence was ever presented. Human Rights organizations had clamored for their release, just as they condemned Cambodia for that deportation for the same reason.
Although there has been a new U. S. administration in office, observers know that much of George Bush’s policies are continued under Barack Obama. It does seem hypocritical at best and downright cynical when the U. S. government, and it doesn’t matter which administration it is, condemns other nations for human rights abuses (which admittedly exist in Cambodia), but continues to infringe, curtail, or abrogates rights altogether itself.
On the occasion of the Shanghai expo the Chinese government now pledged to donate 257 brand-new (not used) military trucks to Cambodia. You can’t blame Cambodia for taking them. After all, you don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, do you? But some are busy saying Cambodia is playing a dangerous game, obviously remembering Sihanouk’s seesaw tactics, which in the end led to his downfall in 1970. Although it looks somewhat similar, the circumstances are vastly different. At that time, the Americans wanted to contain and push back Communism. Now it is about regional economic dominance. Let’s face it the U. S. is not a major player in Cambodia. That role has long been taken over by the Chinese, followed by the South Koreans. The Chinese don’t so much look at the Americans as their main rival in the region as at Vietnam, which also has very close ties to both Cambodia and Laos and likes to play that game. I would say it is just a plain old thumbing of the nose at the Americans when Cambodia accepted that generous gift. Calling this rivalry a power struggle is a bit of a stretch, Mr. Ou Virak. Cambodia has taken a side some time ago. The government accepts everything it can get their hands on, especially if there are no strings attached. If the Chinese are the ones handing the goodies over, so much so good. If it’s the American, just as well. But so far, the Americans have noticeably been absent from that game. They leave the field to the Chinese and others.
The U. S. is busy getting its economy back on track, they have their hands full with the drawing down of troops in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, the nuclear threat of Iran, not to mention huge oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico, immigration reform, to name a few. Cambodia is certainly not one of their political or economic priorities. As for sphere of influence, the U. S. lost that a long time ago after the debacle of the Vietnam War, although it is slowly clawing its way back into the Vietnamese economy, but it is far from its previous dominance, in not only SE Asia, but the world as a whole.
China has become an economic world power; without it, the global economy would grind to a standstill. So those 257 trucks are nothing in the great scheme of things. Hey, and these are new. The Americans just wanted to get rid of their old junk. How generous!
It was on those terrorist grounds that China requested the extradition of those Uyghur refugees from Cambodia. Cambodia obliged and promptly sent them back. Although it was claimed that this was in no way connected to the deportation of those Uyghurs, the subsequent Chinese aid agreements with Cambodia worth 1.2 billion may be subject to one’s individual interpretation.
Now, the previous U. S. government had detained 22 Uyghurs in Guantanamo until Nov. 2009 when 9 of them were released and sent to Palau. Previously five had been sent to Albania. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uyghur_detainees_in_Guantanamo for exact details.
It must be borne in mind that despite the U. S.’s claim that they were enemy combatants and, therefore, had no right to due process, it was clear to people familiar with their history that they were caught in the crossfire of the war on terror in Afghanistan and were held on the mere suspicion of being Al Qaida fighters – no hard evidence was ever presented. Human Rights organizations had clamored for their release, just as they condemned Cambodia for that deportation for the same reason.
Although there has been a new U. S. administration in office, observers know that much of George Bush’s policies are continued under Barack Obama. It does seem hypocritical at best and downright cynical when the U. S. government, and it doesn’t matter which administration it is, condemns other nations for human rights abuses (which admittedly exist in Cambodia), but continues to infringe, curtail, or abrogates rights altogether itself.
On the occasion of the Shanghai expo the Chinese government now pledged to donate 257 brand-new (not used) military trucks to Cambodia. You can’t blame Cambodia for taking them. After all, you don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, do you? But some are busy saying Cambodia is playing a dangerous game, obviously remembering Sihanouk’s seesaw tactics, which in the end led to his downfall in 1970. Although it looks somewhat similar, the circumstances are vastly different. At that time, the Americans wanted to contain and push back Communism. Now it is about regional economic dominance. Let’s face it the U. S. is not a major player in Cambodia. That role has long been taken over by the Chinese, followed by the South Koreans. The Chinese don’t so much look at the Americans as their main rival in the region as at Vietnam, which also has very close ties to both Cambodia and Laos and likes to play that game. I would say it is just a plain old thumbing of the nose at the Americans when Cambodia accepted that generous gift. Calling this rivalry a power struggle is a bit of a stretch, Mr. Ou Virak. Cambodia has taken a side some time ago. The government accepts everything it can get their hands on, especially if there are no strings attached. If the Chinese are the ones handing the goodies over, so much so good. If it’s the American, just as well. But so far, the Americans have noticeably been absent from that game. They leave the field to the Chinese and others.
The U. S. is busy getting its economy back on track, they have their hands full with the drawing down of troops in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, the nuclear threat of Iran, not to mention huge oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico, immigration reform, to name a few. Cambodia is certainly not one of their political or economic priorities. As for sphere of influence, the U. S. lost that a long time ago after the debacle of the Vietnam War, although it is slowly clawing its way back into the Vietnamese economy, but it is far from its previous dominance, in not only SE Asia, but the world as a whole.
China has become an economic world power; without it, the global economy would grind to a standstill. So those 257 trucks are nothing in the great scheme of things. Hey, and these are new. The Americans just wanted to get rid of their old junk. How generous!
Friday, April 30, 2010
The Hoax
By now this story has made the rounds, so more or less everybody in Cambodia knows about it; not only did blogs pick it up but the PPP found it newsworthy enough to dedicate an article to it; we all know now it was a hoax – whether intentional or unintentional we can just surmise; my guess is it was quite intentional. Khmer journalists sometimes have this foible to thumb their noses at their readers. And did they succeed this time!
KI-Media published an English translation taking it quite seriously; not to mention their readers who maden an almost unprecedented number of comments. The majority did fall for the story.
Even the Details-Are-Sketchy blog commented on it with proper outrage, although with her (?) usual sarcastic overtone.
Don’t people have any sense for reality any more, or do they really think the world, and especially Cambodia has come to this? I mean, think about it! A cool $1.0 million for a bride? It goes without saying this is for a virgin, a highly regarded female attribute in Asia. Although it is not uncommon that parents do sell the virginity of their daughter, with the girl ending up in prostitution in a lot of cases, that prize would deter even the most determined aphrodisiac-seeking Asian male. It is also not uncommon that wealthy parents seek out equally wealthy bridegrooms, but we were dealing with a cash-price here. Who wants to dish out that kind of money for the proverbial cat in the bag?
And really, I don’t think a bride is held that high in esteem by the rich young Khmer as one example shows. I met a son of a successful Khmer businessman not too long ago. He drives a Lamborghini (at $400K not for everyone, and this is not the only expensive car he owns). He was going on and on about his car, and one could see that this was really a very prized possession of his. I finally asked him whether he was married. He said, yes, he is. To my question who comes first for him, he only half-jokingly said, ‘They are both equally important to me’.
Anyway, whatever the editor was thinking, for this to appear in a newspaper as hard news would seem so far-fetched that one could ordinarily not help but conclude that this was a hoax. I was so amazed at the reaction and outrage this produced that I could only attribute this to people’s preconceived ideas about Khmer rich people and Cambodia in general. To them Cambodia is practically a cesspool, and anything is possible here. It is, of course, not surprising that the people who comment on KI-Media fell for it, as I believe their intellectual acumen is with a few exceptions somewhat lacking to begin with. But then we know those people don't know too much about Cambodia anyway.
KI-Media published an English translation taking it quite seriously; not to mention their readers who maden an almost unprecedented number of comments. The majority did fall for the story.
Even the Details-Are-Sketchy blog commented on it with proper outrage, although with her (?) usual sarcastic overtone.
Don’t people have any sense for reality any more, or do they really think the world, and especially Cambodia has come to this? I mean, think about it! A cool $1.0 million for a bride? It goes without saying this is for a virgin, a highly regarded female attribute in Asia. Although it is not uncommon that parents do sell the virginity of their daughter, with the girl ending up in prostitution in a lot of cases, that prize would deter even the most determined aphrodisiac-seeking Asian male. It is also not uncommon that wealthy parents seek out equally wealthy bridegrooms, but we were dealing with a cash-price here. Who wants to dish out that kind of money for the proverbial cat in the bag?
And really, I don’t think a bride is held that high in esteem by the rich young Khmer as one example shows. I met a son of a successful Khmer businessman not too long ago. He drives a Lamborghini (at $400K not for everyone, and this is not the only expensive car he owns). He was going on and on about his car, and one could see that this was really a very prized possession of his. I finally asked him whether he was married. He said, yes, he is. To my question who comes first for him, he only half-jokingly said, ‘They are both equally important to me’.
Anyway, whatever the editor was thinking, for this to appear in a newspaper as hard news would seem so far-fetched that one could ordinarily not help but conclude that this was a hoax. I was so amazed at the reaction and outrage this produced that I could only attribute this to people’s preconceived ideas about Khmer rich people and Cambodia in general. To them Cambodia is practically a cesspool, and anything is possible here. It is, of course, not surprising that the people who comment on KI-Media fell for it, as I believe their intellectual acumen is with a few exceptions somewhat lacking to begin with. But then we know those people don't know too much about Cambodia anyway.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Recent News – April 2010
Tourist Boost in S’ville
The PPP reports a ‘sharp’ increase, namely 50% more international tourists over the Khmer New Year in Sihanoukville province. A (surprising) 650, yes you read it right - 650, international visitors came to the region (versus 410 in 2009), according to the director of the tourism department.
If that accounts for a boost I don’t know what they would call 1000 visitors – a deluge? This was over the New Year holidays. Who are they kidding? Did they count the expats from Phnom Penh, or what?
Before making such unreflected public comments this director had better learn how to compile real statistics.
Similarly, the 9% increase over 2009 isn’t what they make you believe. Most of that increase is derived from Vietnamese tourists coming for a 3 day visit; that’s how long they usually stay. Additionally, they are not known to be big spenders. In the end, the bottom line for the country is still more or less the same as in 2009 so far. I do know a small number of hotels, though, that are always booked solid. They are even expanding right now.
Rubber Prices
The same issue of the PPP says that rubber prices soared a whopping 236 per cent. This is, of course, true. As of the time of this writing one ton of crepe rubber traded at $3,729, and it looks like prices are going to continue climbing.
Ly Phalla, the director of government’s rubber directorate says he hopes that prices will keep on rising. That’s, however, a pretty short-sighted, if not outright amateurish, view.
One needs to look at the underlying reasons for these incredible increases. He cited the bad weather last year resulting in a decrease in production in 2009. That’s only part of the story. He must have forgotten that there was and still is an economic crisis going on in the world. Thailand, for one, deliberately decreased production on slow demand. Slow demand was the main factor for those plummeting prices to begin with.
The current rise is caused by the still breath-taking growth in China, which is leading directly into an overheating of especially the commodities market. Don’t forget, high natural rubber prices make synthetic rubber look much more attractive. So there is an inherent danger in that rubber price explosion. It will lead to higher prices for rubber based products, which in turn might lead directly to a slowing of demand again. So that spike is sure to come down again to more reasonable levels. Additionally, there is a ‘natural’ shortage at the end of the wintering season. The resumption of production is just starting now. Once it is in full swing again around June, July, prices should stabilize, if not come down. My bet, and my hope, is that prices will settle at the $3,000 mark. That’s high, to begin with. Why hope? I just think of the past bubbles; bursting bubbles always have a dramatic effect, and I just don’t like this kind of drama.
The PPP reports a ‘sharp’ increase, namely 50% more international tourists over the Khmer New Year in Sihanoukville province. A (surprising) 650, yes you read it right - 650, international visitors came to the region (versus 410 in 2009), according to the director of the tourism department.
If that accounts for a boost I don’t know what they would call 1000 visitors – a deluge? This was over the New Year holidays. Who are they kidding? Did they count the expats from Phnom Penh, or what?
Before making such unreflected public comments this director had better learn how to compile real statistics.
Similarly, the 9% increase over 2009 isn’t what they make you believe. Most of that increase is derived from Vietnamese tourists coming for a 3 day visit; that’s how long they usually stay. Additionally, they are not known to be big spenders. In the end, the bottom line for the country is still more or less the same as in 2009 so far. I do know a small number of hotels, though, that are always booked solid. They are even expanding right now.
Rubber Prices
The same issue of the PPP says that rubber prices soared a whopping 236 per cent. This is, of course, true. As of the time of this writing one ton of crepe rubber traded at $3,729, and it looks like prices are going to continue climbing.
Ly Phalla, the director of government’s rubber directorate says he hopes that prices will keep on rising. That’s, however, a pretty short-sighted, if not outright amateurish, view.
One needs to look at the underlying reasons for these incredible increases. He cited the bad weather last year resulting in a decrease in production in 2009. That’s only part of the story. He must have forgotten that there was and still is an economic crisis going on in the world. Thailand, for one, deliberately decreased production on slow demand. Slow demand was the main factor for those plummeting prices to begin with.
The current rise is caused by the still breath-taking growth in China, which is leading directly into an overheating of especially the commodities market. Don’t forget, high natural rubber prices make synthetic rubber look much more attractive. So there is an inherent danger in that rubber price explosion. It will lead to higher prices for rubber based products, which in turn might lead directly to a slowing of demand again. So that spike is sure to come down again to more reasonable levels. Additionally, there is a ‘natural’ shortage at the end of the wintering season. The resumption of production is just starting now. Once it is in full swing again around June, July, prices should stabilize, if not come down. My bet, and my hope, is that prices will settle at the $3,000 mark. That’s high, to begin with. Why hope? I just think of the past bubbles; bursting bubbles always have a dramatic effect, and I just don’t like this kind of drama.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
God Save the King of Thailand
I have been very busy lately, hence no post for some time. Additionally, there wasn't anything worthy writing about in my opinion. Just the same old, same old. It appears as though things are moving in circles, and we've been around all that stuff a few times.
But one interesting story caught my eye as it has a direct impact on Cambodia, and that is, the current Thai crisis. ABC Australia broadcast a report on the Thai King and the Thai Royal Family, its role in today's Thailand, and indirectly in the crisis.
You Tube still has that report online, although ABC itself makes it only available to Australien viewers. Here it is:
Draw your own conclusions, and possibly parallels.
But one interesting story caught my eye as it has a direct impact on Cambodia, and that is, the current Thai crisis. ABC Australia broadcast a report on the Thai King and the Thai Royal Family, its role in today's Thailand, and indirectly in the crisis.
You Tube still has that report online, although ABC itself makes it only available to Australien viewers. Here it is:
Draw your own conclusions, and possibly parallels.
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