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On Wednesday, Chinese and Cambodian officials unveiled a controversial project to expand the naval port, dismissing US fears that it could provide Beijing with a strategically important military post in the Gulf of Thailand.
Cambodian Defense Minister Thea Banh, Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian and other officials put on white gloves before turning shovels full of earth to begin the official “modernization” of the Ream naval base, which will include a dry dock to repair the ships, an extended quay, a hospital, a workshop and a “reception building”.
Longtime authoritarian leader Hong Sen reportedly granted China the right to establish a military base in Ream in 2019, but has long denied it, saying the Cambodian constitution bans foreign military facilities.
Dredging is already underway to allow larger ships to use the port. Tea Banh told guests, including the US Defense Attaché, that it would still be able to accept ships with a displacement of up to 5,000 tonnes – an improvement from the current 1,000 tonnes, but too shallow for all but the smallest naval vessels.
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“Please don’t worry too much about this base in Ream,” Thea Banh said, speaking in front of a sign announcing that the project was funded by a grant from the People’s Republic of China.
“This port is too small and even after its modernization it cannot be a port that would threaten any country,” he said.
Thea Ban said he had invited the United States and other foreign officials to the base so they could see for themselves that “there is nothing here”, although he added that once construction is complete, the facility will become a restricted military zone without access. for foreign nations.
Members of the Cambodian Navy walk along the quay of Ream Naval Base in Sihanoukville, southwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia on July 26, 2019. Cambodian officials began work on Wednesday, June 8, 2022, on a project to expand the naval port in Ream, dismissing US concerns, could provide Beijing with a strategically important outpost in the Gulf of Thailand. (AP Photo / Heng Sinith, File) (AP Photo / Heng Sinith, File))
After the ceremony, the US embassy in Phnom Penh reiterated Americans’ fears that China’s “military presence in Ream could threaten Cambodia’s autonomy and undermine regional security.”
“The United States and countries in the region have expressed concern about the lack of transparency about the intent, nature and scope of the project, and the role the Chinese military is playing in building and using the facility after construction,” said Embassy spokeswoman Stephanie Arzate in an email. to the Associated Press.
Ream is facing the Gulf of Thailand, near the South China Sea, where China is aggressively asserting its claims to virtually the entire strategic waterway. The United States has refused to recognize China’s widespread claim and routinely conducts military maneuvers there to assert that they are international waters.
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Thea Ban said the port project is expected to take two years. He did not say how much it would cost, but China has provided Cambodia with hundreds of millions of dollars in grants in recent years for infrastructure projects.
Chinese Ambassador Wang said the construction would follow a plan agreed by Hong Sen and Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this year to “further promote community-building with a shared future of strategic importance”.
“China and Cambodia have become iron brothers, economical in words but generous in their actions with all their sincerity and standing side by side in difficult times,” he said, according to the English translation of his statement provided by the Chinese delegation. .
Cambodian Navy crew on patrol boat at Ream Naval Base in Sihanoukville, southwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, July 26, 2019. Cambodian officials began work on Wednesday, June 8, 2022, on a project to expand the naval port of Ream rejecting American fears that it could provide Beijing with a strategically important outpost in the Gulf of Thailand. (AP Photo / Heng Sinith, File) (AP Photo / Heng Sinith, File))
In November, the United States sanctioned two high-ranking Cambodian defense officials on charges of corruption in financing the construction of the Ream base, and Wang attacked the move without mentioning the United States by name.
Some countries continue to denigrate legitimate exchanges and cooperation between China and Cambodia and arbitrarily impose unilateral sanctions on Cambodia under the false trap of “democracy” and “human rights”, apparently interfering in Cambodia’s internal affairs through “long-term jurisdiction” “I said. “We strongly oppose all these misconducts.
He said that when completed, the base will be a monument to the “iron friendship and cooperation between the two military” of China and Cambodia.
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China operates only one recognized foreign military base in the poor but strategically important Djibouti Horn of Africa, but many believe its People’s Liberation Army is busy building an overseas military network, even if it doesn’t use the term “base.” “
Beijing recently signed a security agreement with the Solomon Islands, which has raised fears of a possible Chinese outpost in the Pacific and has linked with many other island nations in the region.
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The United States has more foreign military bases than any other country, including many facilities in the Asia-Pacific region.
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