government land concessions to foreign and local firms, are increasing the number of people being displaced from their land. Strangio describes China's aid to Cambodia as “hefty amounts of loans and investment dollars unconstrained by human rights or good governance concerns”. This means that firms and corrupt government officials that benefit from the investments, will act to maximize their profits with little concern for human rights or the rule of law. The international community maintains its leverage over the policy of Cambodia, concerning human rights, corruption, and good governance, through controlling the amount of aid given. The increase in Chinese aid with no strings attached; however, threatens to alleviate Cambodia of western pressures, and may lead to an increase in human rights violations by the government. Land evictions is becoming more and more common in Cambodia; in 2006 in Mondulkiri province, the Phong hill tribes “claim that the Chinese company has colluded with the Cambodian government to illegally force them from their ancestral homeland”. The very recent Boeung Kak and Borei Keila evictions in Phnom Penh were seen by many observers as the Cambodian Government's increasing drift away from the adherence to human rights. The Chinese funded Sesan Dam project in the northeastern part of Cambodia, threaten to lower the fish stocks, and affect the livelihood of many Khmer. “By one estimate, the project will result in a 9 percent drop in fish stocks in the entire Mekong Basin”. In July 2019, UN ambassadors of 37 countries, including Cambodia, have signed a joint letter to the UNHRC defending China's treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang region. See also String of Pearls References Cambodia China