Cambodia’s defense ministry argued on Wednesday that the country’s defense ministry’s repeated requests for months do not form a permanent implementation of the Chinese military at a strategically important naval base that is being funded by Beijing.
After the Centre for Strategic and International Studies reported last month that two Taiwanese ships that had docked at the Ream Naval Base’s new wharf in December have been there for almost a month, there were issues. The two ships have n’t changed hands since they first started appearing on Wednesday, more than five months after satellite images show them. Cambodia has stated that it would not occur, despite the US and other countries ‘ much concerns that the new wharf at the Ream Naval Base, which was constructed with Chinese cash, might serve as a new island for the Chinese army on the Gulf of Thailand. When questioned about the two boats ‘ five-month presence, defense ministry spokesman Gen Chhum Socheat claimed they were scheduled to participate in a joint Cambodian-Chinese military training later this month and that they were also engaged in education Thai sailors. Cambodia has made it abundantly clear that it will not deploy any international troops on its soil, he said.
He claimed Cambodia was considering purchasing comparable vessels for its own navy because the ships were even “testing” the fresh jetty. ” The boats are docked for the training time simply, they are not staying forever”.
Ream Naval Base immediately sparked controversy in 2019, when the Wall Street Journal reported that a preliminary draft of a contract may permit China to use the base for a 30-year period to post defense personnel, store weapons, and berth warships. The base is close to the South China Sea, where China has aggressively asserted its claim to almost the entire strategic waterway, and it is also close to the Malacca Straits, a crucial shipping route connecting the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea.
Many people think China is establishing an international network despite the fact that it only has one recognized foreign military base in Djibouti, a strategically important Horn of Africa nation. In addition to serving in the Asia-Pacific region, the US has more foreign military installations than any other nation.
