Phnom Penh — A $7 million grant to bolster independent media in Cambodia is being welcomed by the country’s journalists.  

The United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, in July announced a grant designed to help “strengthen and expand the diversity of trustworthy news” in Cambodia.  

Details of the funding emerged as the Cambodian Journalists Alliance Association, known as CamboJA, released its quarterly assessment of conditions for media.  

CamboJA found that media are still subject to legal and physical harassment, and that some journalists were brought in for questioning by authorities.  

Between April and June, the association documented one physical assault and at least six cases of legal harassment, including journalists being questioned on accusations of incitement and defamation. The Ministry of Information also revoked licenses for two media outlets that it said had violated professionalism and ethics.  

Nop Vy, who is executive director of CamboJA, told VOA Khmer the association has identified two key concerns: laws used against reporters, including so-called citizen journalists who publish via social media; and a limited understanding of media ethics  

among journalists new to the field. 

“They still have little understanding of the journalism profession, the use of words, the use of certain behaviors, and some of the activities that, in turn, can affect some privacy rights and human rights,” he said.  

Nop Vy said that lack of understanding has contributed to the growing number of lawsuits against journalists. 

The head of CamboJA added that because of legal pressures, Cambodia is seeing a decline in independent journalists. That trend could in turn lead to a decline in the quality of information available to audiences, he said. 

Against that backdrop, CamboJA and the country’s media widely welcome the new five-year USAID grant, which is designed to ensure audiences have access to independent news and to assist in “bolstering” local media.  

“The purpose of this activity is to strengthen and expand the diversity of trustworthy news and information sources available to Cambodians so that they can be better equipped to participate in civic life,” USAID said, as it invited groups to apply.   

A USAID spokesperson told VOA Khmer via email that the agency has supported Cambodia’s independent media in the past and will continue to do so through the grant. 

The spokesperson highlighted the importance of a strong media sector with diverse, independent information sources for democratic development. 

Nop Vy, who says his organization intends to apply for a grant, said the funding will benefit Cambodia’s journalists. 

“It may help to enhance press freedom and strengthen independent media. Having the right support helps protect journalists working in the field,” Nop Vy said. 

He said that journalists are pivotal to a democratic society and that the U.S. could contribute to reviving and reinforcing the democratic process in Cambodia. 

Hang Samphors, head of Cambodian Female Journalists, or CFJ, said the assistance is important in advancing independent media in Cambodia, where the sector is small and operating space limited. 

“With adequate budget for program implementation, independent media can effectively disseminate information and programs to reach our people, enabling informed decisions and contributing significantly to our country’s economic development,” Samphors said.  

She said she hopes the aid will help more female journalists.  

Tep Asnarith, spokesperson for the Cambodian Ministry of Information, emphasized the necessity for genuine stakeholder participation and adherence to professional standards in developing Cambodia’s media sector. 

“We are actively engaged in promoting journalistic values and fostering media sector growth,” Tep Asnarith told VOA.   

Cambodia ranks 151 out of 180 on the World Press Freedom Index, where 1 shows the best media environment.  

This story originated in VOA’s Khmer service. 
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Taipei, Taiwan — China hosted a series of high-profile diplomatic meetings this week aimed at projecting an image as a global peacemaker in two major global crises, the Russia-Ukraine war and the conflict between Israel and Hamas. 

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in the southern city of Guangzhou, his first trip to China since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. In Beijing, China hosted a meeting that resulted in the signing of an agreement among 14 Palestinian factions to form a national unity government.

Analysts say the developments, while significant, were largely symbolic. 

“These diplomatic efforts are in line with the Global Security Initiative that Beijing is trying to put out to make itself look like a global peacemaker, but the international community needs to see some substantive progress [from China,]” Ian Chong, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore, told VOA by phone. 

China dubbed the agreements between representatives from 14 Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Fatah, as the “Beijing Declaration.” On Tuesday, Wang Yi said that while reconciliation is an internal affair of Palestinian factions, it could not be achieved “without the support of the international community.”

He also laid out China’s three-step approach to help end the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, including promoting a comprehensive and sustainable ceasefire, upholding the principle of “the Palestinians governing Palestine,” and promoting Palestine to become a full member of the United Nations as well as implementing the two-state solution.

The United States has made its own concerted attempts to achieve an Israel-Hamas ceasefire, laying out conditions intended to lead to the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas in return for a permanent ceasefire and the pullout of Israeli forces from Gaza.

Although Wang tried to use the meeting in Beijing to cast China as a potential mediator in ending the Middle East conflict, Israel quickly denounced the declaration. The United States voiced its objection to Hamas’ involvement in the post-war governance of Gaza, noting it has designated the group as a terrorist organization.

Some experts say that without the support of the U.S. and other countries, China’s efforts to facilitate peace talks in the Middle East could all be in vain. 

“Despite China’s intention to be a peacemaker and mediator, without the support of the United States and other countries, China won’t be able to achieve much,” said Zhiqun Zhu, an expert on Chinese foreign policy at Bucknell University. 

Despite pushback from Israel and the U.S., Chong in Singapore said Beijing’s outreach to Palestinians could boost its standing in the Muslim world. 

“Beijing wants to seem like it is supporting the Palestinian cause, which has broad sympathy among Muslims and this dovetails with investment and efforts to advance Saudi-Iranian reconciliation,” he told VOA. 

Last year, China brokered a deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia that paved the way for the two Middle East rivals to restore diplomatic ties and reactivate a security cooperation agreement.

In his view, China’s efforts stand as a “contrast” to what some observers see as destructive U.S. actions, from Washington’s support for Israel to the U.S. experiences with Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. 

“Beijing is trying hard to look constructive and supportive to causes that many Muslims and Arab states care about,” Chong noted. 

A window of opportunity in Ukraine war

China’s hosting of Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba this week was also an important diplomatic milestone for Beijing, which has faced persistent criticism over its support for Russia. Beijing has refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

During a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday, which lasted more than three hours, Kuleba said “a just peace” in Ukraine is in China’s strategic interests and that Beijing’s role as “a global force for peace” is important.

He also said Kyiv is ready to negotiate when Russia is ready to do so in good faith, adding that Ukraine hasn’t sensed any sign of readiness from the Russians. 

In response, Wang Yi said China remains committed to a political settlement of the “Ukraine crisis” and reiterated four principles put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping as well as the six understandings proposed by China and Brazil in May to help find a solution to end the Ukraine war.

Zhu, the China foreign policy scholar at Bucknell University, said a potential victory by former president Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election could mean reduced support for Ukraine from Washington, making it “imperative” for Kyiv to reach out to China. 

“If Trump wins the U.S. election, Ukraine will basically be left to itself, so getting support and help from China is critical for Ukraine moving forward,” he told VOA in a written response. 

Building blocks for an alternative world order

Sari Arho Havren, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in Brussels, said China’s diplomatic efforts are part of the “building blocks” to help establish an alternative world order led by China. 

“China sees an opportunity to weaken the United States’ global position through its diplomatic efforts this week, and countries in the Global South are an important audience [for its messaging,]” she told VOA by phone. 

Zhu said as the U.S. becomes more preoccupied with November’s presidential election, there may be more opportunities for China to present itself as an alternative leader in global affairs. 

“The messier the U.S. elections are and the more isolationist the U.S. becomes, the more opportunities China will have to fill in the gap and play a leadership role in international affairs,” he told VOA. 

However, if China hopes to become a more important international player through these diplomatic efforts, Chong said Beijing needs to follow up on the more declaratory agreements by rolling out some concrete steps. 

“I suppose China has ambitions to become a more important player [internationally,] but those ambitions haven’t been matched by developments on the ground yet,” he said.
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — As state treasurer, Vivek Malek pushed Missouri’s main retirement system to pull its investments from Chinese companies, making Missouri among the first nationally to do so. Now Malek is touting the Chinese divestment as he seeks reelection in an August 6 Republican primary against challengers who also are denouncing financial connections to China.

The Missouri treasurer’s race highlights a new facet of opposition to China, which has been cast as a top threat to the U.S. by many candidates seeking election this year. Indiana and Florida also have restricted their public pension funds from investing in certain Chinese companies. Similar legislation targeting public investments in foreign adversaries was vetoed in Arizona and proposed in Illinois and Oklahoma.

China ranks as the world’s second-largest economy behind the U.S.

Between 2018 and 2022, U.S. public pension and university endowments invested about $146 billion in China, according to an analysis by Future Union, a nonprofit pro-democracy group led by venture capitalist Andrew King. The report said more than four-fifths of U.S. states have at least one public pension fund investing in China and Hong Kong.

“Frankly, there should be shame — more shame than there is — for continuing to have those investments at this point in time,” said King, who asserts that China has used intellectual property from U.S. companies to make similar products that undercut market prices.

“You’re talking a considerable amount of money that frankly is competing against the U.S. technology and innovation ecosystem,” King said.

But some investment officials and economists have raised concerns that the emerging patchwork of state divestment policies could weaken investment returns for retirees.

“Most of these policies are unwise and would make U.S. citizens poorer,” said Ben Powell, an economics professor who is executive director of the Free Market Institute at Texas Tech University.

The National Association of State Retirement Administrators opposes state-mandated divestments, saying such orders should come only from the federal government against specific companies based on U.S. security or humanitarian interests.

The U.S. Treasury Department recently proposed a rule prohibiting American investors from funding artificial intelligence systems in China that could have military uses, such as weapons targeting. In May, President Joe Biden blocked a Chinese-backed cryptocurrency mining firm from owning land near a Wyoming nuclear missile base, calling it a “national security risk.”

Yet this isn’t the first time that states have blacklisted particular investments. Numerous states, cities and universities divested from South Africa because of apartheid before the U.S. Congress eventually took action. Some states also have divested from tobacco companies because of health concerns.

Most recently, some states announced a divestment from Russia because of its war against Ukraine. But that has been difficult to carry out for some public pension fund administrators.

The quest to halt investments in Chinese companies comes as a growing number of states also have targeted Chinese ownership of U.S. land. Two dozen states now have laws restricting foreign ownership of agricultural land, according to the National Agricultural Law Center at the University of Arkansas. Some laws apply more broadly, such as one facing a legal challenge in Florida that bars Chinese citizens from buying property within 16 kilometers of military installations and critical infrastructure.

State pension divestment policies are “part of a broader march toward more confrontation between China and the United States,” said Clark Packard, a research fellow for trade policy studies at the libertarian Cato Institute. But “it makes it more challenging for the federal government to manage the overall relationship if we’ve got to deal with a scattershot policy at the state level.”

Indiana last year became the first to enact a law requiring the state’s public pension system to gradually divest from certain Chinese companies. As of March 31, 2023, the system had about $1.2 billion invested in Chinese entities with $486 million subject to the divestment requirement. A year later, its investment exposure in China had fallen to $314 million with just $700,000 still subject to divestment, the Indiana Public Retirement System said.

Missouri State Treasurer Malek tried last November to get fellow trustees of the Missouri State Employees’ Retirement System to divest from Chinese companies. After defeat, he tried again in December and won approval for a plan requiring divestment over a 12-month period. Officials at the retirement system did not respond to repeated questions from The Associated Press about the status of that divestment.

In recent weeks, Malek has highlighted the Chinese divestment in campaign ads, asserting that fentanyl from China “is drugging our kids” and vowing: “As long as I’m treasurer, they won’t get money from us. Not one penny.”

Two of Malek’s main challengers in the Republican primary — state Rep. Cody Smith and state Sen. Andrew Koenig — also support divestment from China.

Koenig said China is becoming less stable and “a more risky place to have money invested.”

“In China, the line between public and private is much more blurry than it is in America,” Smith said. “So I don’t think we can fully know that if we are investing in Chinese companies that we are not also aiding an enemy of the United States.” 

A law signed earlier this year by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis requires a state board overseeing the retirement system to develop a plan by September 1 to divest from companies owned by China. The oversight board had announced in March 2022 that it would stop making new Chinese investments. As of May, it still had about $277 million invested in Chinese-owned entities, including banks, energy firms and alcohol companies, according to an analysis by Florida legislative staff.

Florida law already prohibits investment in certain companies tied to Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Venezuela, or those engaged in an economic boycott against Israel.

In April, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed a bill that would have required divestment from companies in countries determined by the federal government to be foreign adversaries. That list includes China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela.

Hobbs said in a letter to lawmakers that the measure “would be detrimental to the economic growth Arizona is experiencing as well as the State’s investment portfolio.” 
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State Department  — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will depart for Asia on Thursday to reaffirm ties with strategic allies, following his attendance at a highly anticipated White House meeting between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The secretary will now depart tomorrow for Asia, instead of tonight, as we had originally planned, so he can attend the meeting between the president and Prime Minister Netanyahu tomorrow here in Washington,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters during Wednesday’s briefing.  

Washington said it is committed to allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region, despite the Middle East crisis.  

“This is the secretary’s 18th trip to the region,” Miller added. “He will still travel to Laos, to Vietnam, to Japan, to Singapore, to the Philippines and to Mongolia.”  

Blinken will hold talks with senior officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Vientiane, Laos, before traveling to Hanoi, Vietnam. Although a schedule change will prevent him from attending the funeral of General Secretary Nguyen Phú Trong, the head of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party, he will still visit Vietnam to pay his respects and meet with senior officials.  

In Tokyo and Manila, Blinken will join Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for 2+2 security talks with their counterparts.   

Blinken will also travel to Singapore and Mongolia to hold talks with senior officials there.

 
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SYDNEY — The trilateral AUKUS alliance and the growing strategic importance of the Indian Ocean are the focus of a multinational defense conference starting in Australia on Wednesday.

The United States, Britain and Australia are developing military capabilities under the 2021 AUKUS partnership, while tensions in the Indo-Pacific region are bringing focus to the Quad diplomatic partnership, between Australia, India, Japan and the United States.

The Indian Ocean Defense and Security 2024 conference in Perth, Western Australia, is bringing together senior Australian and international government, military and industry leaders.

The event is hosted by the Western Australian government.  It will examine how the the AUKUS pact between the United States, Britain and Australia affects the four-nation Quad diplomatic partnership between Australia, India, Japan and the U.S.

The origins of the Quad alliance date back to Australia’s response to the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Analysts say the AUKUS and Quad groupings share concerns over China’s increasing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.  Beijing has maritime disputes with several countries and a land boundary conflict with India.

Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, chief of the Australian navy, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. Wednesday that, China is one of several areas of discussion at the Perth defense summit.

“This is an opportunity to bring defense, political senior leadership and industry leadership into one room to discuss the role of the state of Western Australia and the importance of the Indian Ocean to the security, prosperity (and) economic wellbeing of the great nation of Australia,” he said. “So, it is much broader than the issue of China, which tends to overshadow many things in our region.”

Western Australia covers a third of the Australian continent.  Its coastline is vast, stretching for more than 20,000 kilometers, including islands. The state has several key naval and air force bases.

The trilateral AUKUS accord is widely seen as a counter to China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region. Beijing has been strident in its criticism of the pact, insisting that Australia and its allies had “gone down a dangerous road for their own selfish political gains.”  

Officials in Beijing have said previously that the Quad grouping was formed “to contain China.”

Australia’s left-leaning government is seeking to stabilize ties with China, the country’s major trading partner, after years of diplomatic friction over various geopolitical and trade disputes.
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WASHINGTON — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has not yet won the Democratic Party’s support for her presidential candidacy, but she has the endorsement of U.S. President Joe Biden, along with several senior Democrats, after his withdrawal from the race on Sunday.

If chosen by the party, and elected president, analysts agree Harris would likely continue the Biden administration’s foreign policy, including the management of one of the most tense and consequential relationships — that with China. 

When she first became vice president, Harris, a former U.S. senator and attorney general for California, was considered by many analysts to be somewhat of a novice in foreign policy. Over the past 3 ½ years as vice president, she has visited more than 19 countries and met with more than 150 foreign leaders, according to the White House website.

VOA compiled some of Harris’s remarks on China policy during her tenure as vice president and earlier as a U.S. senator.

US-China economic relations

In September 2023, Harris traveled to attend the ASEAN summit in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta. After the meeting, she spoke about U.S.-China relations and Indo-Pacific policy on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

“We, as the United States, in our policy, it is not about decoupling, it is about de-risking. It is about understanding,” she said.

“It’s not about pulling out, but it is about ensuring that we are protecting American interests, and that we are a leader in terms of the rules of the road, as opposed to following others’ rules,” Harris said.

China’s economic downturn

“It’s no secret that China is experiencing economic problems,” she said during the “Face the Nation” interview.

“And what you will find — certainly in my conversations with American business leaders — is that they are looking at the future in terms of their capital investments and taking into account which countries are engaged in practices that are about abiding by the rule of law and international rules and norms in a way that they can be guaranteed that there will be some stability so they can make long-term investments.”

“There is increasingly an understanding that China may not be the best bet when you are looking for stability, when you are looking for an investment in a place where there is an adherence to and respect for international rules and norms,” Harris added.

International aid

During her visit to Africa in March 2023, at a news conference with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, Harris reiterated her call for “all bilateral official creditors to provide a meaningful debt reduction for Zambia” — an oblique reference to China, Zambia’s top foreign creditor. However, she stressed that “our presence here is not about China.”

US-China relations

Harris’ first meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping was at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Bangkok in 2022, when she held brief talks with Xi and stressed the importance of maintaining “open lines of communication to responsibly manage the competition between our countries.”

Taiwan

In a September 2022 meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Harris reaffirmed that the U.S. would continue to support Taiwan and oppose any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo.

The White House said Harris underscored that the effort to preserve peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is an essential element of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. 

During a visit to Japan that same month, she said aboard the destroyer USS Howard at Yokosuka Naval Base, “We have witnessed disturbing behavior in the East China Sea and in the South China Sea, and most recently, provocations across the Taiwan Strait.”

China considers Taiwan to be a breakaway province that must one day reunite with the mainland, by force if necessary, and often sends military air and watercraft nearby to assert its claim to the self-governing island. 

South China Sea

During her visit to Japan, Harris commented on China’s aggression in the South China Sea.

“China is undermining key elements of the international rules-based order. China has challenged the freedom of the seas. China has flexed its military and economic might to coerce and intimidate its neighbors,” she said.

“We will continue to fly, sail, and operate undaunted and unafraid wherever and whenever international law allows,” Harris added.

Beijing claims most of the South China Sea as its own, putting it in conflict with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. Chinese ships on several occasions this year used water cannons and blocked its rivals’ ships in the disputed territories. 

 

Last year on “Face the Nation,” Harris said, “What is happening in terms of unprovoked actions against the Philippine interests in the South China Sea is significant and we have been very clear that we stand with the Philippines.”

Beijing and Manila on Sunday announced a deal they say aims to stop the clashes.

China’s human rights, Hong Kong

During her tenure as a U.S. senator for California, Harris actively pushed for legislation to uphold human rights in Hong Kong, which analysts say has seen its autonomy gradually stripped away by Beijing.  

 

In 2019, she co-sponsored the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act introduced by Republican Senator Marco Rubio, which aims to promote human rights in Hong Kong and sanction officials involved in “undermining Hong Kong’s fundamental freedoms and autonomy.” The bill was later signed into law by then-President Donald Trump.

Xinjiang

Harris also co-sponsored and facilitated the passage of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2019, which became law in 2020. The bill authorizes the United States to impose sanctions on “foreign individuals and entities responsible for human rights violations in Xinjiang,” China’s westernmost province that is home to the ethnic Uyghurs, a mainly Muslim minority.        

China denies there are any rights violations in Xinjiang.

Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
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washington — U.S. President Joe Biden’s announcement that he was dropping his reelection bid sparked reactions from former U.S. officials who said Washington’s relations with Seoul are at a crossroads and will either continue on the same path or make a sharp turn.

These officials, who dealt extensively with South Korea, said Biden’s exit would have no immediate impact on Washington-Seoul ties.

“The U.S.-ROK alliance has never been stronger and more capable than it is today, and that alliance will remain so until the end of President Biden’s term next year,” said Evans Revere, who served as the principal deputy assistant secretary and acting assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs.

The Republic of Korea (ROK) is the official name for South Korea.

“Given that Biden will remain president for the next six months, I see little change in U.S. foreign and national security policy and posture over that time with either allies or adversaries, regardless of whatever contingencies or provocations might arise, including on the Korean Peninsula,” Robert Rapson, who served as deputy chief of mission and charge d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul from 2018 to 2021, said in written comments.

Biden called off his bid for reelection Sunday amid mounting pressure from top Democrats who cited his declining polling numbers since his poor debate performance against former President Donald Trump last month.

Biden said in a letter posted on his social media account X, formerly Twitter, that he would focus the remainder of his term on presidential duties and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for president. He said he would speak more about his decision later this week.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry sent a statement via email to VOA’s Korean Service on Sunday that said Seoul “will continue to work closely with the United States to maintain and develop the ROK-U.S. alliance, which has been upgraded to a global comprehensive strategic alliance.”

The office of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said in a statement Sunday that it “would not comment on domestic political situations of any other countries.”

The statement continued, “Bipartisan support for the ROK-U.S. alliance is rock solid. We will closely collaborate with the United States to continuously strengthen the global comprehensive strategic alliance between the Republic of Korea and the United States.”

Harris, if nominated by her party at the Democratic National Convention next month, will face Trump, who secured the presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention last week.

“If Trump wins, then yes, there could be big changes to the Nuclear Consultative Group and U.S. attitudes toward North Korea and the ROK nuclear program,” said Gary Samore, former White House coordinator for arms control and WMD during the Obama administration.

“If Harris wins, I don’t think there’ll be big changes. I think there’ll be continuity,” he said.

Dennis Wilder, senior director for East Asia at the White House’s National Security Council during the George W. Bush administration, said some changes are to be expected if the Republicans win. But “in the Democratic Party, the views are quite set, and the views are very positive on South Korea.”

Unlike Trump, who preferred personal engagement with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Biden and Yoon have preferred strengthening their defense against North Korea through mechanisms such as the Nuclear Consultative Group.

The NCG is a bilateral body aimed at discussing joint nuclear planning to strengthen deterrence against North Korea. The U.S. and South Korean heads of the NCG signed nuclear deterrence and operations guidelines on July 11 in Washington.

During their meeting on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Washington the same day, Biden and Yoon referred to the guidelines as “the advancement of U.S.-ROK security cooperation” since they announced the Washington Declaration in April.

The Washington Declaration affirmed the U.S. use of nuclear weapons to defend South Korea and Seoul’s commitment toward nonproliferation.

Yoon touted Seoul-Washington ties as a “nuclear-based alliance” on July 16 after returning home from Washington.

But a possible reelection of Trump, who had not discounted a U.S. troop reduction in South Korea, has fueled already growing calls among the South Korean public and some lawmakers for Seoul to develop its own nuclear weapons as they became increasingly uncertain of the U.S. defense commitment.

Harry Harris, former U.S. ambassador to South Korea during the Trump administration, said, however, “Alliance[s] transcend individual leaders.”

“I foresee no reduction in cooperation and coordination between the U.S. and South Korea, in all aspects of our relationship and especially in the combined military relationship,” he added.

Joon Ho Ahn contributed to this report.
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Bangkok — Relatives of 85 people who died 20 years ago at a protest in Thailand’s Muslim-majority south are in a race against time to take former military and police officers to trial before the statute of limitations for their alleged crimes runs out.

A court in southern Thailand is holding hearings that continue this week to decide whether to indict nine former officers for the so-called Tak Bai Massacre of Oct. 25, 2004, which is still the deadliest single event in Thailand since a Muslim insurgency began earlier that same year.

On that day two decades ago in Tak Bai district, Narathiwat province, soldiers and police responding to a protest for the release of detained rebel suspects shot seven people dead. The officers forced many more protesters into police trucks destined for a military camp some 140 kilometers away, leaving them packed inside and forced to lie on top of one another for hours.

Seventy-eight of them died. A state inquest later determined that they had suffocated. Many others were injured, some for life.

No one has ever been charged over the deaths or injuries, let alone convicted.

Hoping to change that, 48 survivors and relatives of the dead filed a lawsuit with the Narathiwat provincial court in April against nine officers, all since retired, for unlawful detention, malfeasance and murder.

The court began hearings on whether to indict any of the accused last month. It held a third day of hearings last Friday and is due to hold another on July 26.

With the statute of limitations due to expire in October, exactly 20 years from the event, it is a race against time for the plaintiffs, including Latipah Mudo, whose 62-year-old father, Sama-ae Mudo, was among those who died in the trucks.

“I was very sad when it happened, and the feeling is the same today,” Mudo, who is now 45, told VOA.

“I want the perpetrators to be punished for what they did to us. Tak Bai should be an example that this kind of thing will never happen again,” she said.

Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, a human rights activist and lawyer representing a survivor of the trucks whose arm and leg were permanently paralyzed, says the plaintiffs want to hear the accused account for their actions on the record.

“This incident has been haunting … the communities,” she said. “They want the perpetrators to [stand] up in the court and tell them what happened, why did they do this, why did they do [or act] as a not human.” 

The plaintiffs hope their case can help prevent similar alleged abuses in Thailand’s insurgency-racked south from recurring, she added.

Once the seat of a Muslim sultanate, the southern provinces of modern-day Thailand were deeded to the then-kingdom of Siam by the British in 1909. Rejecting the transfer, several armed ethnic Malay Muslim groups have waged a guerrilla war against the Thai state to win independence for the provinces.

More than 7,000 people have died in related violence since fighting intensified in January 2004.

Since the deaths at Tak Bai, locals and rights groups say Thai authorities have repeatedly abused the martial and emergency laws imposed on much of the south in the years that followed in a bid to put the insurgency down. They cite several cases of alleged torture and extrajudicial killings of suspected rebels in custody. Thai courts and prior governments have rejected claims of the state’s responsibility in a number of those cases.

“As I learned from the locals since I’ve been working on other documentation of torture, enforced disappearances, the violence still continues, from then until now. And most of the time there [was] no power enough to bring perpetrators to justice,” Pornpen said. “We wanted to bring the [Tak Bai] case … to prove that something like this should not happen again.”

In December 2004, a fact-finding committee appointed by the government concluded that security forces used inappropriate measures to disperse the Tak Bai protesters and that commanding officers failed to adequately supervise the transport of the detainees. But authorities did not pursue charges, and the police claimed force majeure, a legal term referring to events beyond the parties’ control.

The plaintiffs reject the claim.

“It’s not true. It happened because of somebody’s actions; that’s why they died. Their excuse is not reasonable,” said Mudo.

According to local media reports, the Narathiwat court said Friday it would announce its decision whether to take any of the accused to trial on August 23. The court could not be reached to confirm or comment on the date.

Pornpen said the plaintiffs had not filed a case sooner for many reasons, including the compensation the government paid out to relatives of the dead and fear of reprisal from authorities, especially during the intervening years of military-led and -backed governments.

After nearly two decades, though, the events of Oct. 25, 2004, continue to loom large over the country’s deep south, says Rungrawee Chalermsripinyorat, a lecturer at the Peace Studies Institute of southern Thailand’s Prince of Songkla University.

She says the deaths remain a prime recruiting tool for the insurgent groups, and an enduring example of what many Thais believe to be a two-tier justice system.

“It is a testament of the culture of impunity that [is] happening in southern Thailand, so people want to see that those responsible are being punished, brought to [the] justice system, and that has never happened in the past nearly 20 years,” she said.

Insurgent groups often draw on generations-old grievances to entice and inspire new recruits.

“But when they use the Tak Bai incident, this is something that they don’t really have to tell people so much [about] because it’s still vivid in their memory, so it’s easy … to encourage people to join the movement,” Rungrawee said.

While bombings, assassinations and shootouts across the south continue to occur alongside police raids and arrests, the pace of the violence has waned over the years. The government has gradually scaled back some of its emergency powers over the region as well and is in talks with some of the rebel groups over the terms of a possible cease-fire.

Should the Narathiwat court decide to indict the retired officers and ultimately be seen to have held them accountable, Rungrawee said the Tak Bai case could also help ease tensions and even move the peace talks forward.

“It would help to create a better atmosphere,” she said, “to show … that the state does not endure this culture of impunity, [that] the rule of law will be strictly respected.” 
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Hanoi, Vietnam — A former Vietnamese property and aviation tycoon charged with $146 million in fraud and stock market manipulation went on trial in Hanoi on Monday, the latest corruption case targeting the communist country’s business elite.

Trinh Van Quyet, who owned the FLC empire of luxury resorts, golf courses, and the budget Bamboo Airways, had nearly $2 billion in stock market wealth before his arrest, according to state media estimates.

But on Monday the 48-year-old, handcuffed and dressed in a white shirt, was led into court by police officers.

The trial comes just days after the death of former Communist Party of Vietnam leader Nguyen Phu Trong, who is credited with spearheading a crackdown on graft at the highest levels.

Trong, 80, died on Friday at a military hospital in Hanoi “due to old age and serious illness,” the party said, a day after announcing he was standing down to seek medical care.

Tycoon Quyet is accused of illegally pocketing more than $146 million between 2017 and 2022.

Following his arrest in March 2022, 49 other alleged accomplices were picked up, including his two sisters and the former chairman of the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange and its chief executive officer.

According to the prosecution indictment, Quyet set up several stock market brokerages and registered dozens of family members to, ostensibly, trade shares.

But police said while orders to buy shares were placed in hundreds of trading sessions, pushing up the value of the stock, they were cancelled before being matched.

The case is part of a national corruption crackdown that has swept up numerous officials and members of Vietnam’s business elite in recent years.

In April, a top Vietnamese property tycoon sentenced to death in a $27 billion fraud case, launched an appeal against her conviction.

The head of one of Vietnam’s top soft drinks companies, meanwhile, was jailed for eight years in April in a $40 million fraud case.
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taipei, taiwan — Taiwan must protect its sovereignty and know its own culture and history, President Lai Ching-te said on Sunday, rejecting what he said was the previous mistaken belief the island could serve as a base to “retake” China.   

Lai, who took office in May, and his ruling Democratic Progressive Party, champion Taiwan’s separate identity from China, a position that frequently angers Beijing which views the island as an inviolable part of Chinese territory.   

Speaking to the DPP’s annual convention, Lai said those who fought to bring democracy to Taiwan — martial law only ended in 1987 — had a clear understanding of the island’s place in the world.   

They “did not hesitate to shed blood and used their lives to debunk the mistaken idea that ‘Taiwan is a base to retake the mainland’, and instituted the national policy of putting Taiwan first,” said Lai, who is also DPP chairman. 

Chiang Kai-shek and his defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s communists. 

Chiang hoped to regroup his forces on Taiwan and attack China to destroy Mao’s People’s Republic of China. Chiang died in 1975 without achieving that dream. 

Lai said Taiwan had different priorities. 

“Now, our responsibility to unite the people, oppose annexation [by China] and ensure national sovereignty,” he said, speaking in Taiwanese, also known as Hokkien, rather than the main language of government, Mandarin. 

“We must do our best to let the whole country’s people understand Taiwan’s own history and culture, and establish a national identity that the 23 million people living in Taiwan are a community of destiny,” he added. 

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not answer calls seeking comment outside of office hours on Sunday. China calls Lai a “separatist.” 

Lai rejects China’s sovereignty claims saying only Taiwan’s people can decide their future. He has repeatedly offered talks with Beijing but been rebuffed. 

China staged war games shortly after Lai’s inauguration, and has continued to send warplanes and warships around Taiwan on a daily basis.   

Taiwan starts is annual Han Kuang war games on Monday, which this year aim to be as close as possible to actual combat. 

Lai said the DPP will always adhere to a democratic and free constitutional system.  

“We will never allow Taiwan to suffer the danger of extinction due to the failure of democratic politics,” he added. 
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hanoi, vietnam — Vietnam will hold a state funeral next week for Nguyen Phu Trong, the leader of its ruling Communist Party who died Friday, the government said on Saturday.

There will be two days of national mourning July 25-26, a government statement said, with the state funeral the second day. During the mourning period there will be no public entertainment and flags at offices and other public places will fly at half-staff, it said.

Trong, 80, died after holding Vietnam’s most powerful position for 13 years, overseeing fast economic growth, a years-long anti-graft crackdown and a pragmatic foreign policy.

His duties have been temporarily assigned to President To Lam, a rising star within the party who could further consolidate his powers if he is allowed to keep the two roles.

The government statement called Trong’s death a huge loss to the party, the state, the Vietnamese people and his family.

“After nearly 60 years of work, Trong has made many great and especially outstanding contributions to the glorious revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation,” it added.

During his time as party head Trong had pursued a pragmatic foreign policy, including nurturing ties with the United States.

Foreign leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, have sent condolences to the people of Vietnam and his family, according to a statement from the Communist Party of Vietnam.
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