Interviewer: Cambodia works with the US, it also works with the Chinese on these issues. Do you think the US and Chinese have to work more closely together? Because to your point, this is a transnational issue that no one country can solve alone.
Samdech Thipadei: Yes. Of course, I mean, President Xi Jinping, President Trump just met. Secretary Rubio is in Beijing talking to Foreign Minister Wang Yi to organize President Xi’s visit to the US. These are bilateral cooperation. Both country already have. In international realm, yes, it’s going to have a cooperation, multinational cooperation, including the US and China. We’re going to host the international conference on online scam. There will be participation from China and the US’s FBI. I invite the delegation from FBI to join, and Director Kash Patel, he said that he’s going to send a senior delegations come to visit. These are the cooperation to tackle common issues. Go well beyond geopolitics. This is for the interest of all countries. Criminal network can attack countries that they don’t have alignment with political. Anything they can exploit, they exploit. They can attack both US and China at the same time, for the benefit of money from scam operation or drug operation. So I see all these cooperation doesn’t have to be confined within or be hostage to an area of what we call geopolitics. It’s sometimes it’s too overblown when we focus on the negativities. But overall, the positive relationship between even China and the US has existed for a long in multiple channels.
Interviewer: You talk about how these criminal groups are becoming more sophisticated. A UN report shows that now they’re even acting like corporates, that they’re using, for example, in the Southeast Asian region, some of these criminal groups, concessions within Special Economic Zones to operate. And Cambodia has dozens of such zones. What is Cambodia doing to ensure that such zones are not being used to facilitate criminal activities?
Samdech Thipadei: We have learned from experience from other countries. I gave strict instructions to our security agencies work with local government, working with agencies in charge of the SEZ, to make sure that no SEZ is been used. If any SEZ is found to be covering for criminal scams, they will be liable just to the law, just less any others. So far, we don’t have any evidence on those. We are very careful on this matter. So, a lot of SEZ in Cambodia is a platform and the area for attract of foreign direct investment in multiple sectors. So these are the area that keep growing, and we continue to hope to attract more investment and expansion of the business both in the SEZ and outside the SEZ. We will be committed, and we are committed to continue to crack down on this. And we have seen the result. We will make Cambodia become area that not easy or worth to stay for scam online. This is our commitment, and we will continue to do so.
Interviewer: Thailand has halted discussions on the border issues as Cambodia sought UN talks on the maritime dispute. What is being done, what efforts are being made to restart border talks?
Samdech Thipadei: I heard the Thai leadership, especially Foreign Ministers of Thailand, has stated that because Cambodia goes to UNCLOS, that close the door for the land boundary. This statement I’d like to say a little bit inaccurate and a little bit unfair based on two reasons. One, the reason why we go to the UNCLOS compulsory conciliation is because Thailand has decided to cancel the only existing bilateral agreement between Cambodia and Thailand on maritime, MOU 2001, which for 15 years, that both Cambodia and various Thai government, about over 10 governments, have continued trying to work based on that, try to find solution, including two previous Prime Ministers of Thailand, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and Prime Minister Paetongtarn, during my time, that we work and try to find solution to the joint development and other areas. But unfortunately, after our warning, our request that Thailand not to cancel the MOU 2001, Thailand government continue to cancel anyway. So, we have no choice but to go to the conciliation. Second, there is no conditions, no agreement or anything before.
Interviewer: There also seems to be misalignment between Thailand and Cambodia on what the UN talks should focus on. Thailand wants to focus and discuss the redrawing of maritime boundaries, while Cambodia wants to focus on the joint development of these overlapping areas. As a gesture of goodwill, might Cambodia consider providing the scope of discussions to a resolution on maritime boundaries?
Samdech Thipadei: I think this point is too early. We need to go on agree on the process of appointing the judge. Now, we are working on the chairman. We have nominated two of the judges each side, and we need the chairman of the judge, the fifth judge, and we’re still working on that.
… we have posted our two proposals for delimitation and the demarcation and also the joint development area for the decisions. But like I said, for now at this stage, let’s focus on getting the process moving.
Interviewer: Senator Ly Yong Phat has been sanctioned by the US for force criminality. Senator Kok An has been sanctioned by the US for hosting human trafficking. How fair do you think these US actions were?
Samdech Thipadei: I think it’s a personal matter on that, and both senators have engaged legal team to fight the legal battle in order to clear their names.
Interviewer: You’re saying that Cambodia remains committed to fighting this issue of scams. So, how far is it going to go in taking action against elites that are being linked to criminal activity or scams?
Samdech Thipadei: We have taken action gainst a number of officials. For example, we had removed a three-star general, two-star generals, one-star generals that found to be have evidence that found to link with that. We have taken charge, even dismissed governors, police commissioners of provinces that is inactive against that type of work. There are more investigations to go on that we we are dealing with.
Interviewer: So, would you say that the US action, would you care to weigh in on whether you think it it was a fair action?
Samdech Thipadei: It’s a matter we will see the result after the court or the defense team will find. It’s not me …
