Chinese warships have been docked in Cambodia for 5 months, but government says it’s not permanent

By SOPHENG CHEANG and DAVID RISING
Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia’s Defense Ministry is insisting that the months-long presence of two Chinese warships at a strategically important naval base that is being expanded with funding from Beijing does not constitute a permanent deployment of the Chinese military in the country. Questions had arisen after the Center for Strategic and International Studies reported last month that two Chinese corvettes that docked at the Ream Naval Base’s new pier in December had maintained a nearly permanent presence there since. Current satellite images, analyzed by The Associated Press, confirm that the two ships remained there on Wednesday, more than five months since they initially appeared.