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US requests Cambodia for a visit to alleged China's military base
The official, who requested anonymity, told Kyodo News that US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman made the request during a two-hour meeting the same day with Prime Minister Hun Sen amid her one-day visit to Phnom Penh.
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Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen waves during his visit to the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) headquarters, currently under construction, in Phnom Penh on June 5, 2020. (AFP/Tang Chhin Sothy )
T
he United States has asked Cambodia to allow a fact-finding visit to a site in the Southeast Asian country where its main benefactor China is allegedly establishing a military presence, a senior Cambodian official said Tuesday.
The official, who requested anonymity, told Kyodo News that US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman made the request during a two-hour meeting the same day with Prime Minister Hun Sen amid her one-day visit to Phnom Penh.
"She was asking if Cambodia may allow a military attache from the US Embassy to visit the alleged site," he said, referring to Ream Naval Base on the Gulf of Thailand.
Hun Sen welcomed the idea, while suggesting journalists may also visit the site since Cambodia has nothing to hide, the official said.
Since last year, the United States has expressed concerns over reports that Cambodia was allowing a Chinese military presence at the base, but Hun Sen's government repeatedly denied the allegation.
A US State Department statement released after Sherman's departure from Cambodia later Tuesday said she expressed "serious concerns" about China's military presence and construction of facilities at the base, while she also sought clarification on the demolition of two US-funded buildings at the base without notification or explanation.
Sherman said a Chinese military base in Cambodia "would undermine its sovereignty, threaten regional security, and negatively impact US-Cambodia relations."
In response, Hun Sen said Cambodia takes sides with neither China nor the United States but is working with both for mutual interests, according to the senior Cambodian official.
