China, Cambodia Deny Washington Post Report of New PLA Navy Base

File image of the Ream naval base in Preah Sihanouk province where China's People's Liberation Army Navy is reportedly building a base. TANG CHHIN Sothy / AFP

Chinese and Cambodian officials were quick to dismiss a Washington Post report this week that claimed the Chinese are building a new base at the Ream naval base in Preah Sihanouk province.

“Cambodia won’t allow the Chinese military to use it exclusively or to develop the site as its military base,” government spokesman Phay Siphan told the French news agency AFP. In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian was equally adamant: “The transformation of Ream Naval Base is only to strengthen Cambodian naval forces’ capabilities to uphold maritime territorial sovereignty and crack down on sea crimes.”

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by Eric Olander

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