Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe on Sunday denied that China is establishing a military presence in Cambodia, as rumors have spread and concerns have been raised by the United States.
“There is no such thing as for China to establish its military presence in Cambodia. There is no such thing out there,” said Fenghe responding to a question at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore over the weekend, which was attended by Cambodia’s Defense Minister Tea Banh.
However, the Chinese general did not give a direct answer to the question of whether China “is seeking” to have a future military presence in Cambodia, which is increasingly getting close to Beijing.
