Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday denied a report that his country had signed a secret agreement with China to allow the Chinese navy to use a naval base in the Gulf of Thailand.On Sunday, The Wall Street Journal reported a Sihanoukville CambodiaThe Wall Street Journal reported that neither China nor Cambodia has disclosed the agreement. The Journal report cited unnamed U.S. officials confirming that China and Cambodia had reached a deal for use of the naval base near Sihanoukville, a center of Chinese investment in Cambodia. The deal, akin to a lease agreement, would allow China “to use the base for 30 years, with automatic renewal every 10 years after that” for posting military personnel, storing weapons and berthing warships. Having access to a naval base on the Cambodian coast would extend China’s influence in Southeast Asia and help bolster its A Cambodian woman gives massage to a tourist on the beach of Sihanoukville, some 185 kilometers (115 miles) southwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia July 29, 2006.Chinese money and tourists have transformed once slow-moving Sihanoukville near the Ream base. Chinese-funded development in the coastal city has transformed it into a boomtown filled with glitzy casinos catering to Chinese tourists. Due in part to the speed of change, there is a local backlash against the investment and associated immigration.The Nikkei Asian Review reported that Cambodia’s tourism ministry recorded more than 1.2 million Chinese tourists visiting in 2017, a 50% increase year on year, making China the country’s leading source of visitors.This report originated in VOA’s Khmer service.
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