Cambodia Pushes Back on Thai Scam Strikes, Seeks to Cool Border

Sun ChantholPhotographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg

Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol said his country wants to “lower the temperature” in its dispute with Thailand to protect a fragile ceasefire and pushed back against Bangkok’s assertions that the clash was a battle against scam centers operating over the border.

Thailand and Cambodia agreed to a ceasefire last month after the latest round of border clashes killed dozens of soldiers and civilians and displaced more than half a million people.

But before the agreement, Thailand’s army recast the fighting as a battle against scam centers, adding a new justification for bombing runs across the border.

“You cannot use the one issue of the scam centers to invade another country,” Sun Chanthol said in an interview Thursday in Phnom Penh. “Do not add fuel to the fire.”

Sun Chanthol, who has led tariffs negotiations with the US, also said trade talks are underway and called on Washington to cut tariffs on key exports such as garments and footwear.

The US and China have sought help from Southeast Asian nations to stamp out industrial-scale scam operations in remote and border areas of Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos, which are suspected of bilking victims globally out of billions of dollars.

The deputy prime minister said he wants people displaced by the conflict to return home, noting that the fighting took a heavy human toll. He didn’t provide an estimate of the economic damage but said trade grew last year despite the clashes, with export volumes up about 17% from a year earlier.

“Cambodia needs peace, and I am sure Thailand also needs peace, in order to build our respective countries for the benefit of our respective citizens,” he said.

Attention returned this week to the issue of scam compounds when Cambodian officials said Chen Zhi, the alleged kingpin of an international scam syndicate facing charges in the US, was arrested in Cambodia and deported to China for investigation.

“When we had all the evidence, we took action, according to the law of the land,” Sun Chanthol said. He didn’t comment on why the suspected crime boss was sent to China instead of the US.

“Cambodia cannot afford to choose sides. We must be friends with every country in the world,” he said, adding, “I am not saying that we have to walk a fine line within the US and China. We walk the Cambodia line that benefits Cambodia.”

Days after the all-out conflict erupted in July, President Donald Trump threatened to freeze trade deals with Thailand and Cambodia unless they stopped fighting.

After an initial ceasefire was reached, the US imposed a 19% tariff on Cambodian goods as part of sweeping levies on dozens of nations.

“We are continue to discuss with USTR regarding certain sectors that we believe should receive a lower reciprocal tariff,” the deputy prime minister said, referring to the US Trade Representative.

Sun Chanthol said Cambodia is also looking to diversify its trade, which is heavily reliant on the US and China, adding that his government is ready to facilitate the private sector and “get out of the way.”

Bloomberg