China Rejects Claims of Naval Base Installation in Cambodia

"China and Cambodia are comprehensive strategic cooperative partners enjoying open, transparent, logical, and legitimate cooperation in various sectors," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Tuesday, rejecting a Washington Post report that China is secretly setting up a naval base in Cambodia. 

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The Chinese official said that "the U.S. runs more than 800 military bases overseas," noting that China, for its part, only has one overseas base in the East African nation of Djibouti.

Zhao spoke out against U.S. meddling in the internal affairs of countries worldwide. He said that Washington, which manages the world's largest defense budget, often participates in foreign wars.

The Cambodian embassy in the U.S. called the claims in the Washington Post report "baseless accusations motivated to negatively frame Cambodia's image," the Chinese spokesman said. 

 On Monday, Washington Post issued a report alleging that China was working in secret to set up facilities for its military at the Ream Naval Base in Cambodia to step up its presence in the Indo-Pacific.   

In this respect, the  Cambodian embassy said that renewal operations are underway at the naval base operated by the Royal Cambodian Navy off the coast of the Gulf of Thailand to enhance Cambodia's naval capabilities.

Under Cambodia's constitution, hosting foreign military facilities at the naval base is prohibited, the embassy added.