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Image source, CSISAMTI
Cambodia confirmed leveling of US-sponsored defense facilities to develop naval bases with Chinese money
Deputy Prime Minister Tea Banh confirmed on Sunday that Cambodia razed a US-sponsored defense facility on the south coast, the latest move in the process of expanding a strategically important naval base developed with controversial Chinese aid money.
The Wall Street Journal reported last year on a secret draft agreement that would allow China to dock warships at the Ream naval base near the Cambodian coastal city of Sihanoukville.
But Cambodia, in recent years awash with Chinese investment, has firmly denied the report, even though Prime Minister Hun Sen has said that aid from Beijing will finance the development of the house. only navy blue.
Satellite images released this week by CSIS, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, show that a US-sponsored facility at the Ream naval base has been destroyed, raising suspicions “about reception.” as rumored in China, “CSIS said.
But General Tea Banh, who is also Cambodia’s defense minister, dismissed the concerns on Sunday.
“We have moved the facility to a new location. We cannot keep it anymore and the building is old,” he told AFP news agency, confirming that the facility was demolished last month.
The tactical headquarters of the National Maritime Safety Committee was inaugurated in 2012.
Image source, fake images
The Ream naval base in Cambodia’s Preah Sihanouk province is the center of attention
The headquarters would be “much better” in the new location, General Tea Banh said, adding that Cambodia only used “a little support” from the United States for the now demolished building.
The new facility is currently under construction about 30 kilometers north of Ream.
Ream’s base has overseen the strategic location in the Gulf of Thailand, which is easily accessible from the disputed South China Sea and is a major global shipping lane.
In particular, Ream is only 100 km from the border between Vietnam and Cambodia.
Beijing claims much of its resource-rich waters, competing with six other nations.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Hun Sen has repeatedly asserted that the Cambodian constitution prohibits the location of foreign military bases on its borders.
Analysts say the deluded prime minister knows all too well the potential for a backlash against China by the public, especially in Sihanoukville, where businesses and casinos now largely belong. owned by the Chinese.
One of the world’s oldest leaders, Hun Sen has avoided leaning in favor of the United States in recent years due to Washington’s criticism of his government’s abuse allegations.
