Cambodia Reaffirms Adherence To Principles Of Independence And Neutrality

Cambodia Reaffirms Adherence To Principles Of Independence And Neutrality

Cambodia has reaffirmed adherence to the country’s Constitution which strictly forbid any foreign military base on Cambodian territory, in response to the U.S.’ unfounded concern that Cambodia has plan to host a foreign navy and personnel at Ream naval base.

“I wish to response to the concerns expressed that Cambodia has plan to host China’s military assets and personnel at Ream Naval Base; This is necessary because repeated allegation and spread of such baseless narrative can gravely undermine trust and sow discord between Cambodia and countries in the region,” said H.E. Dr. Aun Pornmoniroth, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, who represented Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, at the 15th East Asia Summit held on Nov. 14 via Videoconference.

“As I already clarified at the 37th ASEAN Summit, and the same has been repeated, time and again, by my Prime Minister, Cambodia does not have and will never have any foreign military base on its territory. I want to reaffirm that the Royal Government of Cambodia firmly adheres to the principles of independence and neutrality enshrined in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia, which strictly forbids the presence of any foreign military base in Cambodia,” he added.

“As a sovereign and independent nation with full territorial integrity under the rule of a legitimate government, and with equal rights as other nations in the region and around the world, Cambodia has full and inalienable right to improve its naval base, port or shipping facilities to meet the need of today in accordance with Country’s Constitution. It is precisely for this reason that our Maritime Centre at Ream Naval Base has to be relocated to a new site, but still within the same project area. Far from closing it down as alleged, my Prime Minister has invited all interested foreign friends to contribute funding to the Centre. We welcome assistance and continued assistance from the USA, Australia, ROK, Japan, China and others, as long as this does not prevent us from exercising our sovereign right,” underlined the Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister.

Credited: AKP/ C.Nika