Cambodia inaugurates Chinese-renovated naval facility

• Cambodia’s leader, Hun Manet, inaugurated a naval base renovated by China.

• The base, located off Cambodia’s southern coast, could provide China with a strategic position in the Gulf of Thailand near the disputed South China Sea.

• Cambodian officials have denied the base is for use by any single foreign power, following U.S. media reports in 2022 suggesting it was built for the exclusive use of the Chinese navy.

• Cambodia will welcome all friends to hold joint exercises in the base.

• Manet promised that the facility would not be for Beijing’s exclusive use.