Cambodian PM says won't allow any foreign military base in his country

Cambodia will not allow foreign military bases on its soil, strongman premier Hun Sen said on Monday, November 19, following a news report that China was lobbying for a naval base in southwest Koh Kong province.

China, Hun Sen's strongest regional ally, has poured billions of dollars in development assistance and loans into Cambodia through bilateral frameworks and China's Belt and Road initiative.

The initiative, unveiled by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, aims to bolster a sprawling network of land and sea links with Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa.

It has attracted a flood of Chinese commercial ventures in Cambodia, including casinos and special economic zones.

It has seeded disunity among the 10-member ASEAN bloc of Southeast Asian nations over a diplomatic pushback to Beijing's aggression in the strategically pivotal South China Sea.

The area under scrutiny is in the Gulf of Thailand but gives ready access to the South China Sea.

Beijing claims most of the flashpoint area, infuriating the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Taiwan who all have competing for claims to its islands and potentially resource-rich waters.

But in comments during a cabinet meeting, broadcast on Facebook live, Hun Sen denied military bases of any kind have - or will be - built on Cambodian territory.

"I have received a letter from Mike Pence, US Vice President, regarding concerns that there will be a China naval base in Cambodia," he said.

"The Constitution of Cambodia bans the presence of foreign troops or military bases in its territory.... whether naval forces, infantry forces or air forces." The US, once the region's undisputed military power, is acutely aware of the strategic and trading importance of the South China Sea and insists it remains international waters.

US, Australian and British warships have increasingly conducted "freedom of navigation" operations through the sea to press that point, infuriating Beijing.

Hun Sen dismissed reports of a Chinese base as "information that only tries to manipulate the truth."

"I will reply to the letter from US Vice-president Mike Pence to make him understand clearly about the issue."