ASEANEWS HEADLINE-MILITARY | CAMBODIA: No agenda behind China’s donation of two warships to Cambodia
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The government and prominent analysts are utterly perplexed over how certain Western quarters are distorting the simple presentation of gifts from one friend to another into a narrative portraying an attempt by one party to increase its influence in the region.
The gifts in question are two warships which China is building to help Cambodia boost its maritime defence.
The warships being gifted to Cambodia by China are simply another contribution to Sino-Cambodian military cooperation and improving the Kingdom’s defence and should not be interpreted as an attempt to enhance the People’s Republic of China’s influence in maritime Southeast Asia, say experts in international relations.
Memento Maxima Digital MarketingIt has been officially confirmed in a report published by China’s state-run newspaper, China Daily, that China will donate two Chinese Type 056 corvettes to Cambodia.
The ships are now being built in China and are expected to be handed to Cambodia next year.
The report also quotes Wu Peixin, a Beijing-based observer, who notes that the purpose of the two ships is to help the Cambodian Navy extend its operational range and deal with difficult situations such as foreign warship provocations.
“Currently, the Cambodian navy operates a small fleet of surface combat vessels, most of which are light-duty patrol craft. This has restricted the force’s operational capability, leading to its inability to protect the country’s maritime interests and rights,” Wu said.
“Meanwhile, increasing maritime traffic in the region, which is important to the international trade system, requires nations with long coastal lines to have the necessary means and capacity to maintain smooth passage of commercial ships and respond to possible emergencies. And that means Cambodia needs to strengthen its marine hardware.”
Even before the confirmation, many Western media outlets had published critical reports on the donation, marking it as China’s next step to increase its influence in the Southeast Asian Sea through utilising the Ream Navy base in Cambodia.
Cambodia’s National Defence Ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata, however, has made it clear that the gifting of the two warships was a positive response to Cambodia’s request as part of the Kingdom’s quest to protect its own sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“It is in the aim of strengthening the capacity and ability of Cambodia to protect and maintain peace, stability, and security, as well as for supporting search and rescue operations and other humanitarian activities,” she told China Daily.
Speaking in an interview with Khmer Times yesterday, president of the Asian Vision Institute (AVI) Chheng Kimlong expressed his opinion that the two corvettes donated to Cambodia are “small gifts,” given the long history of ties and history between the two countries, and thus should not be translated into a negative thought.
“While China is a special ally to Cambodia with a long history of cooperation, we have to bear in mind that Cambodia has to continue building the great relationship with China, which is not only the second biggest economy in the world but a powerful member of the United Nations,” he said. “It is the best interest of Cambodia to beef up its ties with China in all areas, and the military is no exception.”
As a powerful state in the Asia Pacific, China naturally has an important role to play in maintaining peace and stability in the region, Kimlong added.
“It should also be noted that Cambodia is never discriminative when it comes to promoting defence cooperation, as apart from China, the country has as well built military cooperation with other countries such as Japan, South Korea, the US, and so on,” he explained. “Accepting the two warships from China is simply an act as part of Cambodia’s policy to boost bilateral cooperation and at the same time improve the Kingdom’s defence capacity.”
Cambodia has always welcomed military aid. In fact, just late last month, the Cambodian army received military aid comprising assault rifles, handguns, and ammunition totalling $500,000 from the Indonesian government.
“We have to understand that depending on a superpower is nothing strange for smaller states, but it does not necessarily mean it will lead to a loss of sovereignty,” Kimlong added.
Pou Sothirak, a retired academic and Distinguished Senior Adviser to the Cambodian Center for Regional Studies (CCRS), says the continual attacks by the West on the Cambodia-China military cooperation have been fuelled by the contest between the US and China.
“The US views China’s military initiatives, including the donation of the two warships to Cambodia, as an attempt to increase its sphere of influence, but what really matters is the response by Cambodia to those initiatives,” he explained.
“All stakeholders must accept that this competition between the world’s big powers is shaping the international relations in the region, and there will not be an end to it.”
Sothirak added that currently all “acts of friendship” from China towards Cambodia are based on the ironclad relation between the two countries, and in the matter of China donating two Type 056 corvettes, it is a good contribution to the Kingdom since it is an improvement to its maritime defence.
“China will continue to provide assistance to Cambodia as long as it sees Cambodia as a valuable strategic partner in the region, and Cambodia will always need help to develop the nation, so it cannot reject China’s assistance,” he said.
“Nevertheless, the Americans will never accept such an explanation, no matter how hard Cambodia has been trying to explain. Meanwhile, the fact that many scholars and researchers are trapped in the US-China contest bars us from seeing the truth behind the curtain.”
The Type 056 is a class of corvette designed for littoral combat. Numerous vessels from this class have been constructed and are currently in active service with various operators, including the People’s Liberation Army Navy, China Coast Guard, and the navies of Bangladesh and Nigeria. It is capable of being deployed for a wide range of operations, including patrol, escort, search-and-rescue, surveillance, exclusive economic zone (EEZ) protection, electronic warfare (EW), fishery resource protection, as well as anti-aircraft (AAW), anti-submarine (ASW), and anti-surface (ASUW) warfare missions.
According to the Naval Technology website, a total of 70 Type 056 frigates were built by four Chinese shipyards from 2011 to 2019.
In another related update, Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence announced yesterday that General Tea Seiha, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence, will lead a high-level military delegation to the 11th Beijing Xiangshan Forum from Thursday to Saturday in Beijing, China, at the invitation of Chinese Defence Minister Admiral Dong Jun. Accompanying him are senior officers, including General Nem Sovath, Lieutenant General Hun Manith and Lieutenant General Chao Phirun.
According to the Ministry’s statement, Gen Seiha will deliver a speech on “Multipolarity and the Evolving International Order” at the forum’s Second Plenary Session. He will also hold bilateral talks with General Zhang Youxia, Vice-Chairman of the CPC’s Central Military Commission, and meet with the Defence Ministers of Vietnam and Laos to enhance defence cooperation.
However, Khmer Times has not been able to confirm whether or how the visit is linked to the donation of the two ships.
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