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world news Diahuebs 8 OctOber 2020

US expresses concern over China link to Cambodian base

(AP) — The United States about satellite photos show-
expressed disappointment ing the demolished facility.
Wednesday that Cambodia is Cambodia on Tuesday issued
tearing down a U.S.-funded a statement saying that the
building used for a maritime demolition of the 7-year-old
security program, and voiced Tactical Command Head-
concern that the action may quarters at the Ream base and
be linked to the possible use its relocation in a new build-
of a Cambodian naval base by ing elsewhere was a planned
China's military. upgrade because the exist-
"Such a military presence ing facility was too small and
would negatively impact the lacked docking facilities, with
U.S.-Cambodia bilateral re- limited capacity for training
lationship and be disruptive and other activities, It said
and destabilizing to the Indo- the new facility would in-
Pacific region," the U.S. State volve no change in function
Department said in a state- or relationships with foreign
ment distributed Wednes- partners.
day by the U.S. Embassy in Hun Sen on Wednesday ad-
Phnom Penh. dressed the controversy
Controversy over the Ream again. Speaking at a ceremony
Naval Base on the Gulf of opening an amusement park,
Thailand erupted more than he denied that Cambodia was
a year ago, when The Wall allowing China to establish a
Street Journal reported that base on its territory. He said
an early draft of a reputed would benefit an indepen- cisms of Hun Sen's govern- sponded that China has not that to clarify the issue, he has
agreement seen by U.S. of- dent Cambodia and all na- ment for being undemocrat- been given exclusive rights to ordered the state television
ficials would allow China 30- tions supportive of a free and ic. use the base, while also say- to rebroadcast, with English
year use of the base, where it open Indo-Pacific." Concerns about China's in- ing that warships from all na- subtitles, his speech last year
would be able to post military Washington and Beijing are tentions for the area were tions, including the United denying that China was being
personnel, store weapons and contending for influence heightened by a deal that gave States, are welcome to dock allowed to set up a base.
berth warships. in Southeast Asia. China is a Chinese company control there. He pointed out that He also said he had ordered
The State Department said Cambodia's closest political over a large part of the coast- Cambodia's Constitution the Foreign Ministry to send
the U.S. hopes Cambodian ally and main source of eco- line, and construction of an does not allow foreign mili- an official diplomatic note to
Prime Minister Hun Sen will nomic support, through aid airport on its land that ap- tary bases to be established all foreign embassies in Cam-
accept Washington's offer of a and investment. Relations peared to be designed to ac- on its soil. bodia to let them know his
dialogue to discuss how the between Cambodia and the commodate military as well However, the issue was res- government's position.
United States "can support United States are rocky be- as civilian aircraft. urrected last week with new
infrastructure at Ream that cause of Washington's criti- Hun Sen in June last year re- reports in Western media

Feisty Tasmanian devils roaming Australian mainland again

(AP) — Tasmanian devils, refuge in New South Wales wouldn't have caused extinc- all of which have tested nega- There's also a matter of rep-
the carnivorous marsupials state, about 190 kilometers tion — but the three of them tive for the contagious cancer utation. While devils tend
whose feisty, frenzied eating (120 miles) north of Sydney. together likely caused the — have been released on the to feed on small mammals
habits won the animals car- Tasmanian devils, which devil to become extinct on mainland in a protected wild they're also known to eat the
toon fame, have returned to were once called Sarcophilus the mainland," she said. landscape. carcasses of cattle and sheep,
mainland Australia for the satanicus or "Satanic flesh- Devils have been protected Gabriel said Aussie Ark aims potentially making them a
first time in some 3,000 years. lover," went extinct in main- in Australia since 1941, and for devils eventually to live in nuisance to farmers.
"Seeing those devils released land Australia before the ar- conservationists have worked non-protected areas in main- "When you do big interven-
into a wild landscape — it's rival of Europeans. Scientists to bolster their populations land Australia, with the hope tions like this, there needs to
a really emotional moment," believe the introduction of for years, citing their impor- the devils will contribute to be buy-in from the commu-
said Liz Gabriel, director of carnivorous dingoes, a surge tance as top predators who keeping cat and fox popula- nity, particularly those who
conservation group Aussie in the indigenous human can suppress invasive species tions under control. are affected in the communi-
Ark, which led the release ef- population, and a devastat- — like foxes and feral cats — Some experts question ty," said Jones. "There needs
fort in partnership with other ing dry season cause by a and in turn protect smaller whether the introduction to be consultation."
conservation groups. prolonged El Nino caused species and biodiversity. would have that hoped-for For now, the devils released
The 11 most recently re- the devil to migrate to pres- One of the biggest blows to level of impact. this year and those expected
leased devils began exploring ent-day Tasmania, said Uni- conservation efforts came in Nick Mooney, an Austra- to be released in coming
their new home once they versity of Tasmania ecologist the 1990s when a communi- lia conservationist who has years won't go into the wild
were freed from round, white Menna Jones. cable cancer called devil facial worked with Tasmanian dev- just yet. Instead they will re-
cages at the nearly 1,000-acre "I think any one of those tumor disease — which pass- ils for some 40 years, said fe- ceive supplementary feedings
Barrington Tops wildlife three factors alone probably es between devils through ral felines are likely to return and be monitored by remote
their bites while mating and to hunting for a food source cameras, with some devils
causes large tumors that pre- rather than relying on carrion tagged with GPS trackers to
vent them from eating — re- in competition with the dev- learn more about how they
duced the population from ils. adjust in their new environ-
some 140,000 to as few as "There is an argument that ment, said Gabriel.
20,000. by putting devils into a situ- "We dream of many more
In response, researchers es- ation where you stop the sanctuaries with devils in
tablished an insurance popu- other carnivores scavenging them and really growing the
lation of cancer-free devils in is that those animals, like cats numbers of the species to
wild-type enclosures in Aus- and foxes, will simply start protect that species, but also
tralia's island state of Tasma- hunting. You could actually the animals in the environ-
nia. But the releases in July make a conservation problem ment around them," she said.
and September are the first where it didn't exist before," "This is just the beginning."
time the squat mammals — said Mooney.