Bangkok Post
China has signed a contract to train the
Cambodian army and to supply Phnom Penh with new and updated weapons,
starting with 12 helicopters.
Chinese Gen Jianguo, deputy chief of staff of the People's Liberation
Army (left), shakes hands with Deputy Defence Minister Moeung Samphan
after signing the agreement on Wednesday. (Photo by Phnom Penh Post)
The ground-breaking deal, certain to shake up regional relations, was
signed Wednesday in Phnom Penh at a low-profile ceremony held Wednesday
in Phnom Penh.
It was signed by Moeung Samphan, Cambodian deputy defence minister
and secretary of state of the defence ministry, and Gen Qi Jianguo,
deputy chief of general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army,
with Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh looking on.
The military training and the 12 helicopters "will help to boost the
(Cambodian) military's capabilities," said Mr Tea Banh at the ceremony,
according to an account from Phnom Penh carried by the People's Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party.
There was no immediate reaction to the low-key report from either
Thailand or Vietnam. Hanoi, in particular, is likely to view the
military training of the Cambodian army with major scepticism, if not
outright opposition.
The move comes at a delicate time, with China under close examination
for its huge territorial claims in and near the Asean region. Vietnam
and the Philippines have been particularly suspicious of what they view
as Chinese overreach in the region.
China has been increasingly active in military and economic affairs
in Cambodia during the past several years. In 2012, Chinese companies
have pledged to invest $8 billion in Cambodia, a figure equivalent to
almost two-thirds of its entire economy.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Hun Sen inaugurated an extension of the Combined Arms Officer School, funded entirely by China.
As for Thailand, any upgrade to the Cambodian army will almost
certainly result in both increasing hostility from the ultra-nationalist
"patriots" involved in the dispute surrounding the Preah Vihear temple.
There are likely to be calls from the military to upgrade Thai forces
facing Cambodia, the only country with which Thailand has had armed
conflicts in recent years.
On Thursday, top officials of the Chinese government's railways
ministry signed a deal in Phnom Penh to design, fund and build a new
seaport and 404km railway from Preah Vihear to Koh Kong, the island
province just off the Thai coast. The railway will virtually shadow the
the entire eastern border of Thailand with Cambodia.
China agreed to train, equip and upgrade the Royal Cambodian Armed
Force (RCAF) after the United States considered, then rejected a request
by Phnom Penh, a separate report by the Washington-based Radio Free Asia service.
"China has played a key role in improving Cambodia's dilapidated
military inventory since 2010, when Beijing donated 250 jeeps (sic) and
trucks to Cambodia's army after the US scrapped a similar plan," the RFA
reported.
The US opposition to Cambodian military aid was a direct result of
the decision by Cambodia to send 20 ethnic minority Uighur asylum
seekers back to China for virtually certain imprisonment or worse.
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