Cambodia Refutes Ukraine Military Aid Claim
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba (L) shakes hands with Cambodia's Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn (R) during the signing ceremony of the Instrument of Accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) by Ukraine, in Phnom Penh on November 10, 2022. Photo by TANG CHHIN SOTHY / AFP
- By Phoung Vantha
- January 25, 2023 11:20 AM
PHNOM PENH – Publishers of the “Demografiya upala” Telegram Channel have corrected an infographic which said Cambodia gave military support to Ukraine.
This follows a complaint from Cambodia which said its help was only in the form of humanitarian provision of demining training.
The publishers acknowledged the complaint in an updated infographic which shows a world map with the military supporters of Russia and Ukraine in different colors.
Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said the country categorically dismissed its classification as a military supporter of Ukraine.
The ministry said the decision to provide technical training to Ukrainian deminers in Cambodia, in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency, was purely on a humanitarian basis as demonstrated by its many peacekeeping missions in Africa and the Middle East under the auspices of the United Nations.
The ministry said the infographic was inaccurate and could harm Cambodia as a peace-loving country which adhered strictly to a foreign policy of neutrality as anchored in its Constitution.
The infographic publishers said in the updated version, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cambodia issued a statement that their assistance in training Ukrainian sappers for demining is humanitarian aid, not military aid.
“We respect Cambodia's position and corrected the infographic. In turn, we note that military support meant a much wider list of supplies and actions than just weapons and ammunition.”
Cambodia, in cooperation with Japan, conducted a training course for 15 mine action officers from the Emergency Services Unit of Ukraine from Jan. 16 to 21.
The course covered demining equipment, especially the Japanese Advanced Landmine Imaging System.
