Deported Uighurs Highlight China’s Ties to Cambodia

China’s use of its economic power to foster investment or effect policy has acquired a new dimension with the repatriation of Uighur asylum seekers in Cambodia. As a signatory to the 1951 international Refugee Convention, Cambodia is obligated not to return refugees that may face persecution. But its role in the repatriation to China of 20 Uighurs, who may face prosecution for their alleged involvement in recent protests, has raised questions. While the United Nation High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) tried to influence Cambodia’s decision, offering to transfer the Uighurs to a third country, the Cambodian government criticized the UNHCR for not taking control over the situation, despite the UNHCR having ceded operations to the government two years ago. Importantly, the repatriation was followed two days later by $1.2 billion agreement for Chinese investment in Cambodia. Pressure from China, the leading foreign investor in Cambodia, may have forced Phnom Penh’s hand. Though it may not presage future deals in the region, China’s influence on Cambodia’s decision is at least emblematic of Beijing’s more aggressive approach to leverage its economic clout to obtain foreign support for its domestic policies. – YaleGlobal