(보도) The Phnom Penh Post 2013-8-14 (요약 번역) 크메르의 세계
캄보디아 국방부 : "미국과 군사협력 중단한 것 아니다" 해명
No halt to US programs: Defence Ministry
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(사진: Siv Channa / The Cambodia Daily) 캄보디아 국방부 정책외교처장인 넴 소왓 중장이 어제(8.13) 보도진에게 미국과의 군사협력 프로그램 연기에 관해 해명하고 있다. |
기사작성 : Vong Sokheng 및 Kevin Ponniah
The government yesterday rebutted claims made by the US State Department that Cambodia had cancelled a number of international military programs in the aftermath of the elections.
캄보디아 정부는 어제(8.13) 발언을 통해, 캄보디아측이 총선 후 미국과의 군사협력 프로그램들을 일방적으로 취소시켰다는 미국 국무부의 주장을 반박했다.
Instead the government sought to portray delays in some joint military programs as being unrelated to the current political climate and denied that the Kingdom had postponed military cooperation with a number of other countries, as also asserted by the State Department.
대신 군사협력 프로그램들이 연기된 것은 현재의 정치적 상황과 무관하다면서, 다른 여러 나라들과의 협력 프로그램도 중단됐다는 미국 국무부의 또 다른 발언도 부인.
The US embassy in Phnom Penh also backed down on the State Department’s initial comments yesterday, saying programs had merely been “postponed” until the political stalemate is resolved.
주캄 미국대사관 역시 국무부의 최초 발언에서 후퇴하면서, 캄보디아 국내의 정치적 교착상태가 해소될 때까지만 연기된 것이라 말함.
The developments come after Prime Minister Hun Sen earlier this month dared the US to follow through on pre-election calls by some congressional lawmakers to cut direct aid to the Kingdom if the elections were not deemed to be “free and fair”.
이번 사태의 전개는, 미국 의회 일각에서 캄보디아 총선이 자유롭고 공정하지 못할 경우 대-캄보디아 원조 삭감을 시키려는 움직임이 있는 것 에 대해, 훈센 총리가 이달 초 미국에게 '할테면 해보라'는 식의 발언을 한 이후에 나온 것이다.
Speaking at a daily press briefing on Monday in Washington, DC, US State Department deputy spokesperson Marie Harf said the government had cancelled military programs with a number of countries. “Following the elections, the Cambodian Ministry of Defence postponed or cancelled a number of international military programs, including with the United States. We would not categorise the cancellation of programs as a suspension of military ties,” she said, according to a transcript published on the State Department’s website.
앞서 마리 하프 미 국무부 부대변인은 일일 기자브리핑을 통해, 캄보디아가 총선 직후 미국을 포함 여러 나라와의 군사협력 프로그램을 연기하거나 취소했다고 말한 바 있음.
Ms Harf did not provide details of what programs had been cancelled or discuss whether the US would raise the issue directly, but confirmed the move was a unilateral decision on the Cambodian side. “So this is, obviously, in the context of the National Election Committee announcing some preliminary results, so we’re going to keep watching the process as it unfolds and see where we go from here.”
마리 하프 부대변인은 구체적으로 어떤 사업들이 취소됐는지 밝히지 않은 채, 그러한 결정이 캄보디아측의 일방적 결정이었다고 밝힘.
At a hastily convened press conference at the Ministry of Defence yesterday, General Nem Sowath, director-general of the ministry’s policy and foreign affairs department, said the postponement of programs had nothing to do with post-election politicking. “We have only postponed some programs with the United States, not suspended or cancelled, because our [current] abilities and resources are limited, so we need more time to prepare ourselves for the cooperation,” he said.
캄보디아 국방부의 넴 소왓 정책외교처장은 발언을 통해, 군사협력 프로그램들이 중단된 것은 정치적 상황 때문이 아니라 자원조달 및 준비상태 때문이라고 말함.
Sowath also rejected that the delays were a unilateral Cambodian decision and blamed logistical and human resource issues, including the late arrival of US equipment. “It is normal for either side to ask for a postponement of military cooperation programs, and it is based on mutual dialogue and agreement. It was not the decision of one party.” Sowath added that bilateral military cooperation was still underway and on-schedule with other international partners including Australia, China, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
넴 소왓 정책외교처장은 이번 결정이 캄보디아측의 일방적 결정이라는 점도 부인하면서, 한쪽이 다른 쪽에게 어던 요청을 하는 것은 일반적인 관례라고 말함. 그는 호주, 중국, 말레이시아, 태국, 베트남 같은 국가들과의 국제협력은 아직도 예정대로 진행 중이라고 맑힘.
US embassy spokesman Sean McIntosh confirmed the government’s statement yesterday, distancing the embassy from the State Department’s earlier assertion that programs had been outright cancelled or suspended. “The Royal Government has assured the US Embassy that these are only postponements, not cancellations, until a new government is formed as a result of the July 28 national elections,” he said in an email.
'주캄 미국대사관'의 시언 매킨토시 대변인은 어제 발언에서 캄보디아 정부의 입장을 확인하면서, 본국 국무부가 앞서 발언한 내용에서 다소 후퇴한 태도를 보임.
Despite yesterday’s diplomatic scurrying, analysts were quick to point out that a suspension or cancellation of military ties with the US could hardly be ruled out as a strategic move in Hun Sen’s post-election playbook.
캄보디아 정부의 부인이 있긴 했지만, 전문가들은 미국과의 군사협력 중단이 총선 후 훈센이 취할 수 있는 외교적 옵션의 하나라는 점은 부인하기 힘들다고 봄.
“It looks to me like it’s pre-emptive and is holding course to the US that things could get worse on the strategic military [front] if they continue to push democracy and human rights.… He likes to play it tough, and there is nothing the US can do about it,” Carlyle Thayer, a Southeast Asia scholar at the Australian Defence Force Academy, said. With the situation likely to soon escalate, Hun Sen could be leveraging his position by taking the option of cutting military aid to Cambodia out of the Washington’s hands, Thayer added. “It’s a kind of threat. We can refuse your aid, so you can’t use that as a pressure point.”
'호주 방위군 사관학교'(ADFA)의 칼라일 태이어 명예교수는 캄보디아 정부의 이번 움직임이 미국에 대해 선제적인 경고를 한 셈이라고 말함. 훈센이 미국에 대해 군사원조를 압력의 수단으로 사용하지 말라고 하는 암시를 보냈다는 것.
Political analyst Lao Mong Hay said if the government really was canceling bilateral military cooperation with the US, it would be a “risky” move. “In the long term, [this] is counter-productive.… This is a bit shortsighted in the sense that, if the US means business, it could do a lot more that will harm Cambodia because it has influence in a lot of international financial institutions.”
정치분석가인 라오 몽 하이 박사는 캄보디아가 정말로 군사협력을 취소하는 일은 상당히 위험한 시도라고 말함. 미국이 각종 국제 금융기구에 영향력을 발휘할 수 있다는 것.
Since military relations resumed in 2006 – they were broken off after the 1997 coup – the US has enjoyed a warm and increasingly close military relationship with the Kingdom (funding increased from $1.2 million to $5.7 million per year between 2010 and 2012). Although the US remains Cambodia’s largest military donor, China has recently stepped up its military aid to the Kingdom, directly contesting US regional influence.
훈센이 1997년 쿠테타를 일으킨 후 미국은 캄보디아에 대한 금수조치를 취했다가, 지난 2006년부터 군사원조 면에서 따뜻한 관계를 유지하고 있음. 하지만 최근 중국도 캄보디아에 군사원조를 하고 있음.
보완취재 : Sean Teehan
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