China on Tuesday accused the U.S. of “bullying” Cambodia and ignoring its denials that it will allow any Chinese military presence at a port where Cambodia and China are beginning an expansion this week.
A Cambodian government spokesperson described the expansion of the Ream Naval Base as “cooperation between China and Cambodia,” denying a report in the Washington Post citing an anonymous Chinese official that the facility in Ream would be used in part by the Chinese military.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Tuesday said the work would be a “renovation” of the base which “aims to strengthen the Cambodian navy’s capability to maintain maritime territorial integrity and combat maritime crime.”
