Cambodia, China broke ground on the project to renovate the Ream naval base in Sihanoukville province

Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh (left) and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian at Ream base on June 8 – Photo: AFP

On June 8, the AFP news agency reported that Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian were at the base to attend the groundbreaking ceremony. Heavy construction machinery also appeared at this location.

Newspaper KhmerTimes quoted Ambassador Wang as saying the project will further strengthen the ironclad friendship between the two countries and help modernize the Cambodian navy.

“The project is not aimed at any third parties and will benefit closer cooperation between the militaries of the two countries, better performance of international obligations,” Ambassador Wang Wentian said.

Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh said the Chinese-funded project includes upgrading and expanding a hospital, as well as funding military equipment and repairing eight Cambodian warships.

“There are allegations that the modernized Ream base will be exclusively used by the Chinese military. No, that’s not the case at all,” Minister Tea Banh told hundreds of people, including diplomats. foreign delivery, at the ceremony.

“Don’t worry too much, Ream base is very small… It won’t pose a threat to anyone, anywhere,” he added.

Speaking to AFP news agency on June 7, government spokesman Phay Siphan affirmed that Cambodia will not allow the Chinese military to exclusively use (Ream naval base) or develop this site as a military base. the.

Newspaper Washington Post This week, citing unnamed Western officials, China is building a secret base for the People’s Liberation Army at Cambodia’s Ream naval base on the Gulf of Thailand coast.

Both Cambodia and China denied the information of Washington Post. Phnom Penh even said the construction of a new facility at the Ream base is no secret.

A Cambodian official said the renovation would take two years. The Ream base has been a flashpoint in US-Cambodia relations for many years.

Washington suspects the base was converted and used by China in the context of Beijing’s desire to strengthen its international influence with a network of military outposts.

Stephanie Arzate, a spokeswoman for the US Embassy in Phnom Penh, said the US and other countries in the region had “expressed concern about the lack of transparency regarding the intent, nature and scope of this project”. as well as China’s role in the construction of the project.

“China’s exclusive military presence in Ream could threaten Cambodia’s autonomy and undermine regional security,” Arzate told AFP news agency.

Australia has also voiced concerns. “We encourage Beijing to be transparent about its intentions and ensure activities that support security and stability in the region,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said while in Indonesia.