The Cambodian government on Monday officially denied that the dismantling of a U.S.-funded facility at the Yun Luang naval base in the Gulf of Thailand was a signal to grant China privileged access to the base. Phnom Penh said the removal of the facility was a planned infrastructure improvement. This was the Cambodian government’s response to recent media reports highlighting new concerns about suspicious Chinese plans at the Yunlang naval base.
Cambodia’s National Maritime Safety Committee said in a statement Monday that its tactical command headquarters is a temporary building and that plans to relocate it began as early as late 2017. It described the facility as an “operational unit for multi-agency enforcement” in cooperation with the United States and Australia.
The commission said the existing facility is too small and lacks facilities to dock ships and has limited capacity for training and other activities, so a larger facility is being built in a new location with no change in function or relationship with foreign partners.
China is Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s closest political ally and has provided significant aid and investment to Cambodia.
Prime Minister Hun Sen said in June this year that China has not been granted a concession to use the site. He also said that Cambodia welcomes warships from all countries, including the United States, to dock here. He also noted that Cambodia’s constitution does not allow any foreign country to establish a military base on its land.
The Wall Street Journal reported last year that U.S. officials had seen what was believed to be a preliminary draft of an agreement that would allow China 30 years of use of the Yunlang base, where it would be able to deploy military personnel, store weapons and berth warships.
Western analysts have argued that gaining access to the base in Cambodia would significantly expand Beijing’s strategic military deployments and alter the balance of power in the region.
In response to a question about whether China and Cambodia had signed a secret agreement allowing China to establish a base at the Yunlang naval base, Cambodian Defense Ministry spokesman General Chhum Socheat insisted in an interview with the Voice of America’s Chinese Ministry in Phnom Penh last August 21 that Cambodia had not signed such an agreement with China because Article 53 of the Cambodian constitution is very clear that no foreign troops are allowed to have a base in Cambodia.
He also said at the time that Cambodia “would not even think about” allowing the Chinese military to use the naval base in any way.
In response to a question about how difficult it would be for Cambodia to say no to China if it asked to use the naval base, given the amount of Chinese investment and aid in Cambodia and the influence it has on the Cambodian government, the spokesman replied: “Cambodia is a completely independent and sovereign country. We are not dominated by anyone. No, we don’t fear anybody. We are not afraid of anyone. Investment and trade is the issue and the military is the military aspect and you have to separate the two.”
China’s state-owned Youlian Development Group has gained control of a large portion of the region’s coastline through its Seven Seas Resort development, and has built an airport in the Gulf of Thailand that appears to accommodate both military aircraft and civilian shipping, fueling speculation that China has permission to build military facilities in the region.
The U.S. Treasury Department last month announced sanctions against Unilink.
Secretary Pompeo said in a statement the same day the Treasury Department announced sanctions against Unilink that there are “credible reports” that the Seven Seas project “could be used to store (Chinese) military materials.
He said, “If true, this would violate Cambodia’s constitution and potentially threaten stability in the Indo-Pacific region and could affect Cambodia’s sovereignty and the security of our allies.”
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