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Agence France-Presse

Cambodian premier Hun Sen punched back in a diplomatic spat with Washington on Friday by halting cooperation with a US project to recover the remains of American soldiers killed during the Vietnam war.
The move is the latest in a tit-for-tat battle that has seen relations sour dramatically in recent weeks amid Hun Sen’s accusations that the US assisted an opposition leader with a treason plot.
Hun Sen said his suspension of the search for missing-in-action soldiers was retaliation for the US’s announcement this week that it would stop issuing visas to senior Cambodian foreign ministry officials and their families.
That move was a reprisal for Cambodia’s refusal to take in Cambodian nationals deported from the US for committing crimes.
“In response, Cambodia tells the US that its cooperation with finding the remains of Americans missing in Cambodia ... is suspended temporarily,” Hun Sen said Friday in a speech.
“You do to me, I also do to you,” he added.

The strongman said Cambodia wanted to renegotiate the deportation deal, which has seen more than 500 Cambodians forcibly ejected from the United States since 2002.
Critics say the agreement cruelly splits up families and is a form of double punishment for deportees, who have already served jail time in the US and often have thin links to Cambodia.
Hun Sen said he would resume cooperating in the search for missing American soldiers once the US lifts its visa ban, which was also issued against three other countries.
The US defence department’s search programme has recovered the remains of 42 American servicemen in Cambodia, but 48 others are still unaccounted for.
The Vietnam war remains a sensitive topic between the two nations, with Hun Sen frequently citing America’s secret bombing campaign in Cambodia in his tirades against the United States.

After the war Washington went on to become one of Cambodia’s biggest donors, helping the kingdom rebuild from the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge regime.
But Washington’s influence in the fragile democracy – dominated by Hun Sen for 32 years – has steadily withered amid China’s rising dominance in the region.
Beijing has pulled Hun Sen into its orbit with massive aid and investment deals that come without the kind of pressure that other donors often demand to improve human rights or uphold democratic principles.
On Tuesday, US Ambassador William Heidt warned that Cambodia’s democracy was in peril after this month’s arrest of the opposition leader Kem Sokha, the latest in a protracted government crackdown on Hun Sen’s critics.
The ambassador vehemently denied the “absurd” allegation that the US had assisted Kem Sokha with a treason plot, calling it “inaccurate, misleading and baseless”.


Cambodia halts search for dead American troops as diplomatic spat worsens

US military personnel drape a flag over a coffin containing the remains of a US serviceman during a repatriation ceremony at Phnom Penh International Airport in 2014. File photo: AP

U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia William Heidt gives a press conference at the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Heidt has delivered sharp response to allegations by Prime Minister Hun Sen that Washington is seeking to dislodge his government, denying the allegations and warning that Cambodia is doing itself damage international with its anti-American campaign. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

FILE - In this Aug. 23, 2017 file photo, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen gestures during his visit to Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Hun Sen said Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017 he will retaliate against a U.S. halt on the issuing of most visas to senior foreign ministry officials and their families by suspending missions by U.S. military-led teams searching for the remains of Americans missing in action from the Vietnam War. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith, File)

Cambodia strongman Hun Sen alleges act of treason with US after opposition leader arrested

Cambodian opposition leader Kem Sokha (L) is escorted by police at his home in Phnom Penh. Photo: AFP

epa05806104 (FILE) - Sam Rainsy, then leader of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), sits in his car as he arrives at the Royal palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 24 July 2014(Reissued 21 February 2017). Cambodian lawmakers from the ruling Cambodian People's Party voted to pass a law barring politicians convicted of a crime from leading a political party, which in effect would ban Sam Rainsy, former opposition leader who lives in self-imposed exile after facing multiple criminal defamation charges, from participating in political activities. EPA/MAK REMISSA

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen exits the plane as his arrives from Laos in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. Hun Sen, who threatened Friday to use force over a border crisis with neighboring Laos, has announced less than 24 hours later that he has peacefully resolved it. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

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Hun Sen, a close ally of China, has taken a series of measures against US interests this year


Cambodia halts search for dead American troops as diplomatic spat worsens

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Hun Sen, a close ally of China, has taken a series of measures against US interests this year

Hun Sen, a close ally of China, has taken a series of measures against US interests this year