* U.S.-China tensions growing in Southeast Asia
* Pompeo "credible reports" complex could host Chinese
assets
* Large airport has raised concerns of possible military use
(Adds comment from Chinese embassy in Cambodia, Cambodian
government spokesman)
By Daphne Psaledakis and Prak Chan Thul
WASHINGTON/PHNOM PENH, Sept 16 (Reuters) - The United States
has blacklisted a Chinese developer of a port, airport and
resort complex in Cambodia, saying it was built on land seized
from local people and there were "credible reports" it could be
used to host Chinese military assets.
Union Development Group Co. Ltd is building the Dara Sakor
complex in a national park on the Cambodian coast, with a runway
capable of taking some of the world's biggest planes.
The Chinese real-estate development company describes it as
the largest regional development project in China's global Belt
and Road infrastructure initiative.
The company and the Cambodian government have repeatedly
denied Western media reports that the project has military aims.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there were
"credible reports" that Dara Sakor "could be used to host
(Chinese) military assets".
"If so, (this) would go against Cambodia's constitution and
could threaten Indo-Pacific stability, possibly impacting
Cambodia's sovereignty and the security of our allies," he added
in a statement on Tuesday.
The U.S. Treasury Department described the company as a
Chinese state-owned entity, and said it had at one point falsely
registered as Cambodian-owned to get land for the project, had
forced Cambodians from their land and devastated the
environment.
China's embassy in Cambodia condemned the U.S. sanctions.
"It not only undermines legitimate business interests, but
is a complete violation of Cambodia's sovereignty," it said on
its Facebook page.
Union Development Group did not respond to requests for
comment. It is registered in Cambodia as a private limited
company. Its website says Union Group was formerly known as
Tianjin Wanlong Group, a Chinese real estate developer.
REGIONAL TENSION
Southeast Asia has become one front of growing tensions
between the United States and China, with the rivals at odds
over Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea and
upstream damming of the Mekong River. The U.S. Treasury Department statement cited Cambodian
government spokesman Phay Siphan as having said Dara Sakor could
be converted to host military assets.
It did not say when he said this. In a 2019 Bloomberg News
article, Phay Siphan said: "Dara Sakor is civilian - there is no
base at all. ... It could be converted, yes, but you could
convert anything."
Phay Siphan said he had been misquoted by the Treasury
Department.
"It's fabricated information and is unacceptable," he said
on Facebook, adding that UDG's project was legal and beneficial.
Cambodia's government has repeatedly said the country will
not serve as a base for any foreign army. It has become one of
China's closest regional allies in recent years.
The U.S. sanctions were imposed under the Global Magnitsky
Act, which allows the U.S. government to target human rights
violators worldwide by freezing assets and prohibiting Americans
from doing business with them.
The Belt and Road initiative is China's flagship campaign to
build infrastructure across Asia, linking it to Europe. Work
began on the Dara Sakor project in 2008 after Cambodia leased
45,000 hectares (111,200 acres) in a national park to the
Chinese company for 99 years.
The company said it planned to invest $3.8 billion, building
a resort with residential areas, businesses and industry.