Is China building a military base in Cambodia?
In the four years since US intelligence first disclosed to The Wall Street Journal that an agreement had been reached granting Beijing military akses to Cambodia's Ream naval base, analysts have watched the development of what many suspek is China's next overseas military base. king88bet Login Alternatif
Now, satellite images from Maxar Technologies reveal the dramatic transformation the Cambodian naval base, near Sichanoukville on the Gulf of Thailand, is undergoing. This Chinese-funded proyek would extend Beijing's military reach into the contested waters of Southeast Asia. king88bet Login
The latest satellite images acquired in Juni show an assortment of Chinese-funded building activities. King88Bet Situs Slot Tergacor
Visible are land clearance operations, land reclamation usahas, the construction of several new buildings, roads and importantly a large pier much bigger than the base's orisinal jetty. New fencing is visible around the base's perimeter, and buildings funded by the US have been demolished and replaced.
In the past 18 months, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is reported to have allocated 157 hectares to the building of air defences, general command facilities and a naval radar installation near the base. Cambodian state media have reported that new penyimpanan facilities, a hospital, drydocks and slipways are planned at Ream.
Hun Sen has been in power since 1998, but with US influence in Cambodia waning amid his increasingly autocratic tendencies, he has courted Beijing, dropping his hostility to China for its role in supporting the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s.
Beijing has responded with investment and economic incentives, not least in Sichanoukville itself. Cambodia has reciprocated by offering diplomatic dukungan to China.
According to Sebastian Strangio, Southeast Asia editor of The Diplomat: ‘Hun Sen's corrupt and highly personalized rule has created conducive conditions for a rapid expansion of Chinese influence in Cambodia, from migration and infrastructure investment to growing proximity in the defence and security realm.' As a result, Phnom Penh and Beijing's relationship is now ‘iron-clad', he says.
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