By Guo Yuandan
The 83rd Chinese naval task unit arrived in Cambodia on May 19 for a four-day goodwill visit. However, the US-led Western media outlets took the opportunity to hype up the topic of China's establishment of a military base in Ream, Cambodia. Zhang Junshe, a Chinese military expert, noted on May 20 that it is legitimate for China to provide assistance to the upgrading project of Cambodia's Ream Naval Base, and the Western media has no reason to gossip about the ironclad friendship between China and Cambodia.
During the visit to Cambodia, members assigned to the Chinese naval task unit visited military facilities in Cambodia, conducted discussions, friendly ball games and other activities with representatives from Cambodian naval academies, and hosted open-day activities and deck receptions. These activities have further strengthened the friendship between the two countries.
Nevertheless, while reporting on this goodwill visit, the US-led Western media deliberately tied it to the ongoing China-Cambodia "Golden Dragon 2024" joint exercise, falsely claiming that the Chinese naval training ship Qi Jiguang and amphibious dock landing ship Jinggangshan attached to the task unit arrived at Sihanoukville Autonomous Port to participate in the joint exercise. They even hyped that China has invested to upgrade and reconstruct a naval base originally built partially with the US funding in Ream, a place not far from Sihanoukville Autonomous Port.
In fact, as a routine military cooperation activity between the two countries and militaries, the "Golden Dragon" joint exercise has been held successfully for five times. According to Zhang's analysis, the focus on non-traditional security of this year's joint exercise is obviously manifested by the theme of "joint counter-terrorism operations and humanitarian relief." The expanded scale of the "Golden Dragon 2024" joint exercise reflects the continuous deepening of the military cooperation between the two countries.
"Exploiting the China-Cambodia joint exercise, the Western media once again hyped up the topic that China will potentially establish a military base in Ream, turning a blind eye to the truth," commented Zhang. He added that China's assistance to the upgrading project of Ream Naval Base aims to enhance the Royal Cambodian Navy's capabilities of safeguarding maritime territorial integrity and combating crimes at sea. The cooperation conforms to the domestic laws of the two countries as well as relevant international law and practice.
"The Cambodian side has made clarifications on various occasions, but officials and media from certain countries keep spreading rumors to smear the normal cooperation between China and Cambodia. However, their conspiracy of playing up the so-called 'China threat theory' and driving a wedge between China and Cambodia will by no means bear any fruit," Zhang said.
Editor's note: Originally published on huanqiu.com, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
