Cambodia and China on Tuesday denied press reports that they are building a secret naval base for the Chinese navy, while Australia, expressing concern, called for transparency.
According to the US daily Washington Post, citing Western officials who requested anonymity, a new facility is being built at Cambodia’s Ream base, strategically located in the Gulf of Thailand, and is to be ‘exclusively’ used by the navy. Chinese.
This base has been a contentious issue between Cambodia and the United States for years. Washington has long suspected that the place is being transformed to serve China, which is seeking to expand its international influence through a network of military bases.
Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Prak Sokhon dismissed the Washington Post’s “unfounded accusations” in a telephone interview with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, according to a Cambodian government statement.
“Cambodia will not allow the Chinese military to use the site exclusively or to turn it into one of its military bases,” Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan told AFP earlier.
Cambodia’s defense minister and Chinese ambassador to the country will attend a groundbreaking ceremony for new facilities in Ream on Wednesday, including a new pier and a boat repair shop.
Visiting Indonesia, the new Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the information from the Washington Post as “disturbing”.
“We encourage Beijing to be transparent in its intentions and to ensure that its activities contribute to regional security and stability,” he told reporters, adding that Cambodia had assured Australia that it would would never give exclusive access to Ream to a foreign army.
Australia is increasingly concerned about growing Chinese influence and military activism in the Pacific region.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has repeated several times that the work at Ream is only an upgrade of the site, as well as the installation of a new boat workshop developed with the help of China. “Cambodia does not need the presence of a foreign army on its territory,” he said last month.
Same story in Beijing: “The transformation of the Ream naval base is only intended to strengthen the capabilities of the Cambodian maritime forces,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Tuesday.