China on Monday asserted that its cooperation with Cambodia should not be "over interpreted" after a US media report said that Beijing has inked a secret deal with Phnom Penh to allow Chinese forces to use the Ream naval base in the strategically placed Southeast Asian country.
Citing officials from the US and allied nations, the Wall Street Journal reported that the pact signed recently gives China exclusive rights to part of the Cambodian naval installation on the Gulf of Thailand, not far from a large airport now being constructed by a Chinese company.
Both sides have not disclosed the details, it added.
Some details of the final deal were unclear, the paper quoted an official as saying but an early draft, seen by US officials, would allow China to use the base for 30 years, with automatic renewals every 10 years after that. China would be able to post military personnel, store weapons and berth warships, according to the draft.
Such an arrangement would boost China's ability to assert its territorial claims in the South China Sea (SCS). China claims nearly all of the SCS, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it.
On Monday, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen termed the media report as a "fake news."
"This is the worst fabricated news against Cambodia. There is no such a story because the presence of any foreign military base is contrary to Cambodia's Constitution," he told the pro-government website Fresh News on Monday, according to China's state-run Xinhua news agency.
"Why does Cambodia need the presence of Chinese military on its territory?" he asked. "We have never even discussed this with Chinese leaders, not to mention about the signing of the agreement."
He said, "(They) should stop using 'fake news' on the presence of Chinese armed forces in Cambodia's territory to campaign against us."
Commenting on the report, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told the media here that the Cambodian side has denied this report.
"China and Cambodia are traditionally friendly neighbours. We cooperate in various areas. Our cooperation is transparent, mutually beneficial and equal. Hope the relevant parties do not over interpret it," he said.
He, however, did not directly deny the report.
Asked whether like Cambodia he is denying the report about Chinese military to make use of the base, Geng reiterated "as I said we hope relevant sides do not over interpret the cooperation between China and Cambodia."
The WSJ also carried the denial of Cambodian official but it quoted US and allied officials as saying that a deal had been done.
While stopping short of a full-scale Chinese base, the deal would give Beijing its first dedicated naval staging facility in Southeast Asia and a second outpost in what the Pentagon sees as a Chinese quest for a global network of military and dual-use sites.
Washington is "concerned that any steps by the Cambodian government to invite a foreign military presence in Cambodia" would disturb regional peace and stability, the paper quoted Emily Zeeberg, a spokeswoman for the US Embassy in Phnom Penh, as saying.
China's massive loans for infrastructure projects specially to small countries under its mega Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) stirred up a major controversy in 2017 after Sri Lanka reeling under massive debt handed over its strategic Hambantota port as debt swap on 99-year lease.
Colombo too later denied that it would be used for any military purposes by China. The port, however, provides a second berth to China in the Indian Ocean after Djibouti where Beijing established a logistics base for its navy.
China is also developing the Gwadar port in Pakistan, which last year denied any proposal to build a Chinese military base near the port.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
