A TOTAL of 604 guns of US origin and manufacture that were no longer serviceable have been destroyed last year, in an effort that a US official said was to ensure the safety and livelihoods of Cambodians.
US ambassador to Cambodia W Patrick Murphy last week visited a US-funded joint project implemented between the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) and Golden West Humanitarian Foundation in Kampong Chhnang province.
Following his visit, Murphy tweeted: “I joined our Golden West Humanitarian Foundation partners in Kampong Chhnang to see how the conventional weapons destruction programmes funded by the Political-Military Affairs of the US Department of State ensure the safety and livelihoods of Cambodians.
“It’s good to see old weapons taken out of commission!” he added.
US embassy spokeswoman Stephanie Arzate said the project focused on the reduction of ageing stockpiles of small arms light weapons.
She said the project began in April 2022, with the aim to destroy some 35,000 foreign weapons, mostly of Russian and Chinese origin. It also includes 604 US-origin weapons that are unserviceable and approximately 50 years old.
According to Arzate, the 604 US-origin firearms accounted for 1.72% of the total stockpile.
“Through this cooperation, all 604 US-origin weapons have been destroyed, in addition to 10,000 non-US-origin weapons since destruction began in April 2022,” she said.
According to the spokeswoman, the United States partners with countries around the world to support conventional weapons destruction. The support for Cambodia in such efforts has been ongoing for 30 years, including landmine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance.
She claimed that the United States is “the largest donor” to these activities, having provided more than US$190mil (RM828.4mil) since 1993, “which helps advance safety and security for all Cambodians”.
“US support to conventional weapons destruction includes a capacity building programme to assist relevant Cambodian authorities to identify and dispose of unserviceable and surplus munitions in its national stockpile,” she said.
The Golden West Humanitarian Foundation has produced and supplied more than 500,000 explosive charges to the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) over the years to be distributed across Cambodia to destroy landmines and UXOs.
The US government supports Golden West and other mine-clearance organisations “to address our own war legacy issues in Cambodia and to clean up mines left by other countries and actors”, it said on its website, adding that US$9mil (RM39.2mil) was provided to this effort in 2019.
“We strongly support Cambodia’s goal to be mine-free by 2025,” it said.
The Golden West Humanitarian Foundation said their programmes’ “10,000th foreign military weapon destroyed” was reached on Dec 22, 2022. — The Phnom Penh Post/ANN
