Khmer times:


A deputy commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces over the weekend met with a top US Navy official and reiterated that the Kingdom will not allow any foreign military presence on its soil.

https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50638522/r ... -official/

"...the Kingdom will not allow any foreign military presence on its soil...." he is telling the truth, not on soil, only in water.

The key phrase I saw is exclusive rights to Ream Naval Base. It would be a Joint Naval Base. As far as Joint Exercises, who do you think paid for them in the past? There was a wall in Sharkey's with plenty of plaques from US units that trained Cambodian Forces prior to the China pivot. Ream Naval Base was set up and scheduled for an upgrade to be paid for by the U.S. It's not about the money..

U.S. Military Attaché Visits Controversial Ream Naval Base
The U.S. has consistently raised concerns over the possible stationing of Chinese military and naval assets at Ream, following a news report from the Wall Street Journal that the Chinese and Cambodian governments had reached a “secret deal” to give the former access to the base.
By VOA Cambodia - January 15, 2020

A United States military envoy in Cambodia visited Ream Naval Base in Preah Sihanouk province on Monday, a base that is surrounded in controversy for plans to allegedly install Chinese military and naval assets.

U.S. Defense Attaché Colonel Marcus Ferrara, who is stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh, visited Ream Naval Base on January 13 to “pay a courtesy call and have a working discussion” with Royal Cambodian Navy’s Deputy Commander Vice Admiral Ouk Seyha, according to a Facebook page run by the base’s administration.

Reached on Monday, Vice Admiral Ouk Seyha, who also concurrently commands the base, only confirmed that he met with Colonel Marcus Ferrara, declining to comment further.

In full: https://www.voacambodia.com/a/u-s-milit ... 44726.html

But "Informed US intelligence sources" who were briefing the Wall St Journal, Bloomburg, The Times, Agence France-Presse, CNN, ABC, BBC, et al, were saying not 6 months ago, in headlines all over the world, that the Chinese secret naval base was going to be at that tourist jetty at Botum Sakor.
- Next to the bog standard length tourist airstrip that was "suitable only for military purpose"

Lucky they sent a Naval officer down to have a look this time before they went to war, instead of relying on the CIA/NSA mob.
Horrible to have another Gulf of Tonkin "incident"/lie
or another "proof of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction" error/lie
- which sent us all off to war

It would not be nice if US's staunchest allies thru a hundred years of conflicts, Australia and NZ, were dragged off to war again, and our troops killed again, based on another US intelligence mistake/lie.
Which even a tourist can see if absolute crap on a weekend sleepover at the beach.

We go off to war with the Yanks, every time, but don't think we don't know they are full off bullshit when it suits them.
And that their intelligence services are flocking hopeless/liars. sometimes
Please remember that, US citizens and our close friends, if you are offended when we call out your dangerous games at times. We are allies, and friends, not suckers.

So please don't make us out to be the enemy for bluntly speaking our mind - and correcting your NSA etc when it is mistaken or lying - that would be another tragic intelligence failure.
Fair enough?

After getting that off my chest - i am always happy to talk positively about how we ANSUS partners can improve our strategic position in the Pacific/East Asia region. I have swung right around since "Vietnam" days, and have become a firm supporter of a strong, and effective, US power here. I think we should all step up the game.
It just gets a bit f'ing frustrating when i see these basic intell/interp mistakes being repeated all over again.

I am actually not nearly as antagonistic as i sometimes appear, about the USA, and the vast majority of Aussies and Kiwis most certainly aren't either. But we do speak frankly to our friends, 'hope you understand that.

The news appears to be that there is no news (available.)

56 seconds ago - BREAKING NEWS
Visit of Defence Attache from US Embassy to Ream Naval base shrouded in mystery

The visit of the U.S. Defense Attache, Colonel Marcus Ferrara, seconded to the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh to the Ream Naval Base on 13th January has raised more questions than answers.

The visit came to light on the US Embassy’s Facebook and on the naval base Facebook respectively.

The Ream naval base has come under intense scrutiny, speculation and has courted controversy after news broke from the UN Navy that the base would be housing Chinese military assets.

Colonel Ferrana, during his working visit paid a courtesy call on the Royal Cambodian Navy’s Deputy Commander, Vice Admiral Ouk Seyha but besides the posts about the visit, no other information was revealed or made available.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50681445/v ... in-mystery

What is the latest with the Ream naval base?

Deefer wrote: ↑Sat Feb 08, 2020 5:12 pm What is the latest with the Ream naval base?

Good Q, Deef! and good to see someone else is not asleep.

Not heard much recently, until this intriguing report (see link below) last week.
Verry verry in-ter-est-ing, as the spooks say..
'ties in with the mystery drone at Botum Sakor

Worrying. But, NB, it would be unwise to draw definite conclusions at this stage.
It may well be just bog standard military mapping.
Everybody does that everywhere.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-05/ ... e/11928184

Chinese military presence in Cambodia remains a subject of outside interest and concern, as HE the Cambodian PM felt it necessary yesterday to once again deny rumors of a present or future Chinese naval base in Cambodia:
HE Denies China’s Navy Granted Basing Rights in Cambodia
The Cambodian prime minister repeated earlier denials that China has been given exclusive rights to Ream naval base.
02 June 2020
Cambodia’s leader declared Monday that China has not been given exclusive rights to use a naval base on the country’s southern coast, and said that warships from all nations, including the United States, are welcome to dock there.

Prime Minister HE was responding to persistent news reports and concern expressed by Washington that Beijing had been granted basing privileges at Cambodia’s Ream naval base on the Gulf of Thailand.
https://thediplomat.com/2020/06/hun-sen ... -cambodia/

CEOCambodiaNews wrote: ↑Tue Jun 02, 2020 7:52 am Chinese military presence in Cambodia remains a subject of outside interest and concern, as HE the Cambodian PM felt it necessary yesterday to once again deny rumors of a present or future Chinese naval base in Cambodia:
HE Denies China’s Navy Granted Basing Rights in Cambodia
The Cambodian prime minister repeated earlier denials that China has been given exclusive rights to Ream naval base.
02 June 2020
Cambodia’s leader declared Monday that China has not been given exclusive rights to use a naval base on the country’s southern coast, and said that warships from all nations, including the United States, are welcome to dock there.

Prime Minister HE was responding to persistent news reports and concern expressed by Washington that Beijing had been granted basing privileges at Cambodia’s Ream naval base on the Gulf of Thailand.
https://thediplomat.com/2020/06/hun-sen ... -cambodia/

If my friends were my enemy, and my enemy was my friend, then I would gamble with a two headed coin .

Changes Underway at Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base
Published: October 2, 2020

The Cambodian government has demolished a U.S.-built facility at the country’s Ream Naval Base, according to satellite imagery collected on October 1. The demolition occurred sometime after September 5—likely around September 10—though imagery of sufficient resolution to confirm was not available at that time. The building was one of several U.S.-funded facilities on the base which were reportedly to be relocated after Cambodia struck a secret deal to grant China access to Ream. The recent demolition seems to confirm that changes are underway at the naval base and again raises questions about rumored Chinese access.

The Wall Street Journal reported in July 2019 that Cambodia and China had signed a secret agreement giving China access to Ream in return for the construction of new infrastructure at the base. The report cited unnamed U.S. officials who had seen an early draft of the agreement. It reportedly allowed access for Chinese troops, weapons, and ships for 30 years with an automatic renewal every 10 years thereafter. The Journal reported that Washington’s suspicions grew after Cambodia refused U.S. funding to repair facilities at Ream, which Phnom Penh had requested in the first place. Joseph Felter, then U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia, had sent a letter to Cambodia’s defense minister asking for more information about the decision on June 24, 2019. Reuters reported on July 1 that a Cambodian defense ministry spokesperson said, “At Ream, perhaps, there will be some changes in the future.”

The building demolished last month was the Tactical Headquarters of the National Committee for Maritime Security. Officially inaugurated in 2012, it was renovated and built by the United States and equipped by Australia. The larger building to its north, which is still standing, is the Rigid-Hulled Inflatable Boat (RHIB) Ramp and Boat Maintenance Facility, built by the United States in 2017. That is the building Felter said Cambodian officials first asked for and then refused U.S. help to repair.

Large tracts of land all around Ream Naval Base have been leased by Chinese companies, some with connections to Beijing, for resort development. One of these is Canopy Sands Development Group, a subsidiary of Prince Real Estate Group, which is developing the stretch of Ream Bay directly north of the naval base. Satellite imagery shows that the company began reclaiming land about three miles north of the base in February. It has so far created about 100 acres of new landfill for an unknown purpose.

Land reclamation at Ream Bay, August 22, 2020

The Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning, and Construction also announced in February that Ream Bay would be the site of a $16 billion resort project. The dredging, which started just four days after that project was announced, is presumably part of the resort development—perhaps the beginning of port infrastructure. But with current facilities at Ream Naval Base only able to host small patrol ships, any large port development nearby bears watching.
https://amti.csis.org/changes-underway- ... aval-base/