Cambodia ‘demolishes’ US-built facility on naval base, amid fears of secret China deal

[TR_123456]

• Centre for Strategic and International Studies think tank publishes images it says shows building at Ream Naval Base was torn down
• Cambodian government has denied reports that it was hosting Chinese forces

Cambodia
has demolished a US-built facility on the country’s largest naval base, according to images published by an American think tank on Friday, amid increasing concern in Washington about China’s access to military bases in the nation.
The Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) published images that it said showed that the Cambodian government last month demolished a building that the United States had built at Ream Naval Base.
Last year the Pentagon had asked Cambodia to explain why it
turned down an offer to repair the base
, saying the decision had raised speculation of possible plans for hosting China’s military.
The Cambodian embassy in Washington and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


The Cambodian government has denied reports that China had reached a secret deal with Cambodia to let it place forces at Ream, saying that hosting foreign forces would be against Cambodia’s constitution.
The base is southeast of the port city of Sihanoukville, centre of a Chinese-led casino boom and a Chinese-run Special Economic Zone.
Cambodia is one of China’s closest allies in Southeast Asia and has received billions of dollars of Chinese aid as well as political backing for authoritarian Prime Minister Hun Sen in the face of Western criticism.
Cambodia has been wary of superpower rivalry since being devastated by fighting between US and Chinese proxy forces in the 1970s that culminated in the Khmer Rouge genocide.

Cambodia ‘demolishes’ US-built navy facility, amid fears of secret China deal

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[Ryder]

Vietnam is not going to like this one bit.

 

[Saithan]

Vietnam is not going to like this one bit.

In that region you either have to side with US or China, but US would need to exert great effort to help the countries while China is much closer and can effect them much easier. Hence why US picks americanized countries to try limit China.

 

[Ryder]

In that region you either have to side with US or China, but US would need to exert great effort to help the countries while China is much closer and can effect them much easier. Hence why US picks americanized countries to try limit China.

The Usa and China supported Pol Pot against the Vietnamese. How times change.