By Prak Chan Thul
PHNOM PENH, July 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Defense Department
has asked Cambodia to explain why it suddenly turned down an
offer to repair a naval base, saying the decision had raised
speculation of possible plans for hosting China's military.
A letter to the Cambodian defence minister, seen by Reuters,
reflects concern in Washington about the Chinese military
presence in Southeast Asia, where China is increasingly
assertive over its contested claims in the South China Sea.
The letter from Joseph Felter, U.S. Deputy Assistant
Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia, asked for
more information on the decision to decline help to repair a
training facility and boat depot at Ream Naval Base.
"The notification letter of 6 June 2019 has been seen
throughout the U.S. government and is fuelling speculation that
this sudden change of policy could indicate larger plans for
changes at Ream Naval Base, particularly ones that involve
hosting Chinese military assets," said the letter.
It gave no details of any such plans.
The U.S. Department of Defense and Army Attache in Phnom
Penh, Michael Stelzig, confirmed that the letter to General Tea
Banh had been delivered on June 24. The U.S. Embassy had no
further comment.
A spokesman for Cambodia's defence ministry said the U.S.
money had not been declined, but that Cambodia wanted it spent
elsewhere.
"At Ream, perhaps, there will be some changes in the
future," Chhum Socheat said. He said he could not give details
of the changes. When asked if they would involve Chinese forces,
he said they would not.
CHINA'S FRIEND
Cambodia is one of China's closest allies in Southeast Asia
and has received billions of dollars of Chinese aid as well as
political backing for authoritarian Prime Minister Hun Sen in
the face of Western criticism.
The Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh did not respond to a
request for comment on the letter or any plan for Chinese forces
at Ream Naval Base.
China currently operates one overseas military base, in
Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, and has repeatedly rejected
speculation that it plans to open more in other countries.
Felter visited the base in January and said he had offered
support for the repairs on U.S.-funded facilities in April after
getting a Cambodian request for help. The offer was later turned
down, he said.
Ream Naval Base, Cambodia's largest, is southeast of the
port city of Sihanoukville, centre of a Chinese-led casino boom
and a Chinese-run Special Economic Zone.
Hun Sen said last year that there would never be a foreign
military base in Cambodia after a news report that China was
lobbying for a naval base in Koh Kong province - northwest of
Sihanoukville.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence also wrote to Hun Sen last
year to express concerns at a foreign military presence or base
in Cambodia, something that would be forbidden by Cambodia's
constitution.
Cambodia has been wary of superpower rivalry since being
devastated by fighting between U.S. and Chinese proxy forces in
the 1970s that culminated in the Khmer Rouge genocide.
But Cambodia has supported Beijing's line on negotiations
with Southeast Asian countries over the South China Sea, where
Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have
overlapping claims.
(Writing by Matthew Tostevin; editing by Darren Schuettler)