Recently the Reuters World News on-line reported the
following:
WORLD NEWS JULY 22, 2019 / 8:47 AM / 4 DAYS AGO
Cambodia denies deal to allow armed Chinese forces at its
naval base
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China will be able to place armed
forces at a Cambodian naval base under a secret pact between the two nations,
the Wall Street Journal said on Sunday, although Cambodian officials denied
such a deal had been struck.
The agreement, reached this spring but not made public,
gives China exclusive access to part of Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base on the Gulf
of Thailand, the Journal said, citing U.S. and allied officials familiar with
the matter.
Such an arrangement would boost China’s ability to assert
contested territorial claims and economic interests in the South China Sea,
challenging U.S. allies in Southeast Asia.
Chinese and Cambodian officials denied such a pact existed,
the Journal said.
“This is
the worst-ever made up news against Cambodia,” Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen
told the pro-government news site Fresh News on Monday.
“No such
thing could happen because hosting foreign military bases is against the
Cambodian constitution.”
Cambodian defense ministry spokesman Chhum Socheat told
Reuters the report was “made up and baseless”.
In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said, “As
I understand it, the Cambodia side denied this.”
But he declined to respond to repeated questions whether
China also denied the report.
“China
and Cambodia are traditionally friendly neighbors,” Geng told a news briefing.
“We have
cooperated in various areas. Our cooperation is open, transparent, and mutually
beneficial and equal. I hope the relevant parties do not overinterpret it.”
Hun Sen’s strongest
regional ally, China has poured billions of dollars in development assistance
and loans into Cambodia through two-way frameworks and its Belt and Road
initiative.
The initiative, unveiled by Chinese President Xi Jinping in
2013, aims to bolster a sprawling network of land and sea links throughout
Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa.
It has attracted a flood of Chinese commercial ventures in
Cambodia, including casinos and special economic zones.
This month the U.S. Defense Department suggested China may
be attempting to gain a military foothold in Cambodia, in a letter to Cambodia
asking why the nation had turned down an offer to repair a naval base.
In a statement, the State Department urged Cambodia to
reject such an arrangement, saying the nation had a “constitutional commitment
to its people to pursue an independent foreign policy”.
It added, “We are concerned that any steps by the Cambodian
government to invite a foreign military presence in Cambodia would threaten the
coherence and centrality of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in
coordinating regional developments, and disturb peace and stability in
Southeast Asia.”
Cambodia denied reports last November that China had been
lobbying it since 2017 for a naval base that could host frigates, destroyers
and other vessels of the People’s Liberation Army Navy.
(Reporting by Pete Schroeder and David Brunnstrom in
WASHINGTON; Additional reporting by Prak Chan Thul in PHNOM PENH, and Catherine
Cadell in BEIJING; Editing by James Pearson and Clarence Fernandez)
Translation
華盛頓(路透社)-根據兩國之間的秘密協定,中國將能夠在柬埔寨海軍基地安置軍隊,儘管柬埔寨官員否認已經達成這樣的協定。
《華爾街日報》援引熟悉此事的美國和盟國官員的話說,今年春季達成的這項協定沒有被公開,
它允許中國獨家進入位於泰國灣的柬埔寨雷姆海軍基地。
這樣的安排將提高中國能力在南中國海主張有爭議的領土要求和經濟利益,挑戰美國在東南亞的盟友。
《華爾街日報》說,中國和柬埔寨官員否認存在着這樣的協定。
柬埔寨首相洪森週一在接受親政府新聞網站《新消息》採訪時說:"這是有史以來對柬埔寨的最恶劣的製造新聞。
"不可能發生這樣的事情,
因為託管外國軍事基地是違反柬埔寨的憲法。
柬埔寨國防部發言人ChhumSocheat告訴路透社,這份報告是"毫無根據的"。
在北京,外交部發言人耿爽說,"據我所知,柬埔寨方面否認了這一點。
但他拒絕回答中國是否也否認這一報導的反復提問。
"中國和柬埔寨是傳統的友好鄰邦,"耿在新聞發佈會上說。
"我們在多個領域進行了合作。我們的合作是公開、透明的、互利的、平等的。我希望有關方面不要對此過度解釋。
中國是洪森最強有力的地區盟友,中國通過雙向框架和"一帶一路"倡議向柬埔寨投入了數十億美元的發展援助和貸款。
中國國家主席習近平于2013年公佈了這一舉措,旨在鞏固亞洲、中東、歐洲和非洲龐大的陸地和海上聯繫網路。
這舉措吸引了大量中國商業企業在柬埔寨投資,包括賭場和經濟特區。
本月,美國國防部在給柬埔寨的一封信中暗示中國可能試圖在柬埔寨獲得軍事立足點,信中詢問為什麼拒絕了修復海軍基地的提議。
美國國務院在一份聲明中敦促柬埔寨拒絕這種安排,稱柬埔寨"對本國人民有憲法承諾,奉行獨立的外交政策"。
它補充說,"我們擔心任何柬埔寨政府步驟邀請外國軍力出现在柬埔寨將威脅東南亞國家聯盟在協調區域事態發展中的一致性和中心性,並擾亂東南亞的和平與穩定。
去年11月,柬埔寨否認了有關中國自2017年以來一直在遊說建立一個海軍基地的報導,該基地可以容納中國人民解放軍海軍的護衛艦、驅逐艦和其他船隻。
My comments
I am
interested in knowing whether Chinese navy will appear in Cambodia’s navy bases in the near future. I believe that the US has superb spying satellites and
they can easily detect the naval activities of China in the region.
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