Cambodia 20260216
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Headlines:
Kingpin's Fall Leaves Hundreds Stranded
Beijing's Peace Talk, Bangkok's Bulldozer
Angkor's Loss Is the Mekong's Gain
Border Closed, Car Imports Wide Open
Phnom Penh Pulls Its Own Plug on Thai Power
Stitching Together a Good January
Lab Coat Diplomacy
Kingpin's Fall Leaves Hundreds Stranded
Cambodia has sealed 190 scam compounds in the last few weeks, deporting 11,000 workers and arresting 173 senior figures after the US indicted an alleged Chinese kingpin and China extradited him. Authorities showed reporters a sprawling Kampot casino complex packed with computer stations, fake Indian police booths, and scripts for targeting Thai victims, though police admit most of the 6,000 to 7,000 workers fled before they arrived. Korean and Australian investigators found personal details of hundreds of their citizens inside raided facilities. Korea's joint team with local police nabbed about 130 suspects in two months. But thousands who escaped or were freed now sit in Phnom Penh without passports or support, having traded captivity for destitution. Amnesty calls it a humanitarian crisis, and one shuttered compound has been converted into an immigration holding center.
Read more: SCMP, Business Today (locations shuttered), Khmer Times (Chinese deported), Koreajoongangdaily Joins (Korea joint team), Abc (Australians targeted)
Beijing's Peace Talk, Bangkok's Bulldozer
Scholars from China, Cambodia, and Thailand came together in Beijing on February 10 for Track II peace talks hosted by China Foreign Affairs University. It was a meeting of the diplomatic variety where nobody has to commit to anything. The dialogue focused on implementing the Fuxian consensus reached in late December after months of border sparring, and covered education, media exchanges, and border livelihoods, the unsexy foundations of lasting peace. The ceasefire has held since December 27, but 79,000 of the displaced still can't go home, and Thailand keeps busy building roads and filling in ponds on what Phnom Penh says is occupied territory. The foreign ministry filed fresh protests over Thai forces destroying civilian buildings in Banteay Meanchey province and altering the terrain to "legitimise the unlawful occupation." The situation "remains fragile" and is dependent on "political restraint and external institutional support." The ceasefire holds. Not much else does.
Read more: Khmer Times (displacement statistics), Sg Finance Yahoo (Track II dialogue), CGTN (China mediation details), Khmer Times (Philippine military visit), Khmer Times ($1.5M Japan aid)
Angkor's Loss Is the Mekong's Gain
Border fighting that flared last July and resumed in December has carved a 36% hole in Angkor Wat ticket sales this January, dropping from 146,150 visitors to roughly 93,500 right in the middle of high season. G Adventures is pulling back from affected areas and Intrepid has dropped Battambang from itineraries through July, though Intrepid says it hasn't actually seen a drop in demand or rising cancellations. The river cruise crowd is sailing past the trouble. Avalon Waterways says that Mekong bookings are up 15% with first-quarter departures nearly sold out, and Scenic Group is seeing a 10% passenger increase for 2026. The operators are routing around the conflict zone, sticking to Vietnam and southern ports while land-based tourism is where the hit is being felt.
Read more: Travel Weekly
Border Closed, Car Imports Wide Open
The customs chief claims the sealed Thai border hasn't caused shortages or price jumps, pointing to a 21% rise in full-year 2025 customs revenue as proof the economy has been able to absorb the shock. The more curious number: car imports rose 60% to more than 83,000 units, and the item now accounts for almost 40% of all customs duties. That's an unusual spending pattern for a country that just lost land access to its largest trading partner and banned fuel imports from Thailand. Kun Nhem, the customs director general, is giving institutional effort the credit for the revenue beat, not the sudden flood of automobiles crossing other borders while vegetables, fruit, and gasoline stay banned at Thai checkpoints.
Read more: Khmer Times, Khmer Times (60% car surge)
Phnom Penh Pulls Its Own Plug on Thai Power
"We are facing Thai aggression, we are not going to bother with Thailand, we have enough electricity for our own use," Mines and Energy Minister Keo Rottanak said at a February conference. Cambodia stopped buying electricity from Thailand in June 2025 after Bangkok threatened to cut supply, and power outages actually dropped. Rottanak points to grid upgrades and new substations for the improvement. The shift followed Prime Minister Hun Manet's order on June 12, 2025, to put an end to dependence on Thai imports. Whether domestic generation can keep pace with rising demand is another question.
Read more: Phnom Penh Post
Stitching Together a Good January
Garment, footwear and travel goods exports topped $1 billion in January, up 12.8% from last year, with knitted apparel leading at $640 million and leather goods jumping 66%. The sector still accounts for roughly half of all exports, and labour minister Heng Sour made sure the world knew it, flying to Paris this week to talk up the country's commitment to international labour standards at an OECD forum on due diligence in the garment and footwear sector. Western buyers are watching, and with energy costs rising and regional competition heating up, keeping the US and EU happy is as important as it ever was. January's numbers suggest the orders are still flowing.
Read more: Fibre2Fashion (January export figures), Khmer Times (OECD minister statement)
Lab Coat Diplomacy
Rice and pepper exporters are now able to certify their products at home instead of shipping samples abroad, after Institut Pasteur du Cambodge installed two pesticide residue testing machines funded by Australia. The equipment meets EU, US and Australian standards, and the facility holds ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accreditation for pesticide residues in rice and pepper, AND heavy metals in water and microbiological testing in food and water. Testing for cashews, fruit and other crops is planned for later this year.
Read more: Asia News
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