Cambodian envoy rules out Chinese ships

Cambodia’s Foreign Minister has denied his government will allow Chinese naval vessels at its Ream base in the Gulf of Thailand in a phone call with Penny Wong.

Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn says his country’s constitution does not permit foreign military bases on Cambodian soil. Picture: AFP

Cambodia’s Foreign Minister has denied his government will allow Chinese naval vessels at its Ream base in the Gulf of Thailand in a phone call with Penny Wong in which he dismissed recent claims as “groundless”.

Prak Sokhonn, who is also deputy Prime Minister, said on Wednesday he had assured his Australian counterpart that Cambodia’s constitution did not permit foreign military bases on Cambodian soil, and that the renovation of the World War II-era base “served solely to strengthen its naval capacities to protect its maritime integrity and combat crimes”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed concern on Tuesday at reports the northern section of the base being built in Cambodia would accommodate People’s Liberation Army navy vessels just 500km from Peninsula Malaysia.

Penny Wong. Picture: Keryn Stevens

Beijing and Phnom Penh have long denied the new facility would host Chinese military vessels, but the Washington Post cited a Chinese official in Beijing confirming “a portion of the base” would be used by the Chinese military, though they would not be involved in any activities on the Cambodian side.

Chinese officials, including Beijing’s ambassador to Cambodia, were expected to attend the ground breaking on site this week.

A Chinese military base at Ream, only its second foreign military outpost after one in Djibouti, East Africa, would strengthen Beijing’s presence near key Southeast Asian sea lanes and help expand its influence in the region, US officials and analysts said.

The latest claim comes weeks after China signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands containing several ambiguous provisions that Canberra fears could open the door to Beijing building a military base just 2000km from the Australian mainland.

Prak Sokhonn said he had also discussed the Myanmar crisis with Senator Wong, and that his March visit to Myanmar as ASEAN Special Envoy had “paved the way for the next appropriate steps” to end the violence that has been ongoing since the February 2021 military coup, deliver humanitarian aid and facilitate dialogue.