After the US media "Washington Post" hyped cambodia as "building a naval base for China", the Cambodian side responded.
On June 7, the Cambodian Embassy in the United States countered in a statement that cambodia's constitution does not allow foreign countries to build military bases in Cambodia. The transformation of the Yun loam base aims to strengthen the Cambodian Navy's ability to maintain maritime territorial integrity and combat maritime crime. The US side has turned a deaf ear to cambodia's position, repeatedly maliciously speculated, attacked and smeared, and even threatened and pressured Cambodia, which is a typical bullying act.
In addition to the statement of the Cambodian ambassador to the United States, the Guardian reported on June 8 that Cambodia's deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Brasokun, refuted the report in a phone call with Australia's new foreign minister, Huang Yingxian, calling it "baseless allegations."
Satellite image of the Naval Base in Yunyang, which is about 1,000 kilometers from the Strait of Malacca Image Source: Social Media
Earlier, the Washington Post quoted anonymous Western officials on June 6 as saying that the newly built military base would be located north of the Yunyang Naval Base. The Washington Post speculated that the base would be "only available to the Chinese military" after completion, and the groundbreaking ceremony was scheduled to take place this week.
It is worth mentioning that on the 7th, Australia's new prime minister Albanese also mixed up the matter, calling the Yunyang naval base "worrying" and calling for greater transparency.
Unnam Naval Base is located in Sihanoukville Province, Cambodia, on the Gulf of Thailand, 1,000 kilometers from the eastern end of the Strait of Malacca.
This is not the first time that foreign media have "talked nonsense" about Sino-Cambodian cooperation; the rumor that "China wants to build a military base in Yunyang" has a long history, and even though our side and the Cambodian side have repeatedly refuted it, the United States and other Western media continue to speculate.
As early as 2019, some U.S. officials "revealed" to the US media that Cambodia and China signed a secret agreement allowing China to "use Yunyang as a military base", and this report was denounced as "fake news" by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Cambodian Marine Corps stationed at the Naval Base in Yunyang Image Source: Social Media
In January, the Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS), a nonprofit research institute in Washington, said in a report that commercial satellites showed that dredging vessels had been found near Cambodia's Lum Lang Naval Base, suspected of being carrying out deep-water harbor dredging projects, meaning "a Chinese naval base is being built," and that CSIS also claimed that the base "poses a serious threat to the United States and regional allies."
In addition to hyping up military bases, the US side is also pointing fingers at China's Cambodian cooperation. In December, the United States imposed an arms embargo and new export restrictions on Cambodia, while imposing sanctions on two Cambodian military officials. The reasons given by the US side are "China's growing military influence over Cambodia" and the problems of "human rights" and "corruption" in Cambodia.
Cambodia then counterattacked, announcing that the Yunyang base would not welcome the docking of U.S. warships and would retire all the U.S.-made weapons left behind in the country. In the face of repeated speculation by the United States, on May 2 this year, the Cambodian prime minister announced that he would no longer welcome the United States to visit the Cambodian naval base.
Hun Sen said on the 2nd: "I have informed [Cambodian] Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Dibán that if anyone applies to visit the Yunnan Naval Base, there is no need to give them a visit." Yunyang Naval Base is not a crime site, what do you really want to investigate, the last time I gave you a visit, you were not satisfied, saying 'can not fully access', do you know what the visit means? I'm giving you an interview, not a search for you, and I ask you to recognize that. ”
As for the speculation of the US side, our Foreign Ministry has refuted it, and Zhao Lijian responded on June 7 that we have noted that the Cambodian side has responded to this. The Cambodian side said that the Cambodian constitution does not allow foreign countries to build military bases in Cambodia. The transformation of the Yun loam base aims to strengthen the Cambodian Navy's ability to maintain maritime territorial integrity and combat maritime crime. The US side has turned a deaf ear to cambodia's position, repeatedly maliciously speculated, attacked and smeared, and even threatened and pressured Cambodia, which is a typical bullying act.
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