[Vietnamization: China responds] Joint Military Drill Planned

[Background]

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Chinese and Cambodian military officials in discussions. Supplied

Joint Military Drill Planned

Khmer Times | 22 NOVEMBER 2016

Cambodian and Chinese troops will hold a major joint eight-day exercise next month in what military officials say is the first such operation of its kind in Cambodia.
 

More than 500 soldiers are to take part in the exercises that are intended to boost ties between the countries which are forging ever closer military links.
 

The exercises will involve emergency road repairs, landmine detection and destruction, road construction, dam building, flood-victim rescue and natural disaster medical treatment.
 

Under the code name Golden Dragon, the maneuvres will take place at the Thlok Tasek Military Institute in Kampong Speu province from the 15th to the 23rd, military officials say.
 

General Wang Jiaocheng of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) spoke about the exercises after a meeting with Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) commander-in-chief General Pol Saroeun on Sunday.
 

Gen. Saroeun described the relationship between the RCAF and the PLA as “strong as iron.”
 

He said assistance and investment from China had significantly contributed to Cambodia’s development.
 

China has been supported by Cambodia amid tensions between Beijing and its Southeast Asian neighbors.
 

Earlier this year, Cambodia was one of several countries which blocked criticism of China in a joint statement by Asean nations after an international arbitration court rejected Chinese claims to South China Sea island waters.
 

China also has a long-running claim to sovereignty over Taiwan, which it claims under its One China policy. Gen. Saroeun cited Cambodian support for the One China principle.
 

In October, Cambodia said its military plans to buy jet fighters from China to modernize its aging air force.
 

But first, Cambodia would seek to upgrade its air defenses with Chinese help, Defense Minister Tea Banh said.
 

Mr Banh said he had signed several military aid agreements with China to modernize Cambodia’s armed forces, though he did not give details.

China is Cambodia’s biggest donor and lender, representing about $15 billion in 20 years.
 

When Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Cambodia in October, Beijing wrote off $90 million in debt and pledged $230 million in loans, plus $15 million in military aid.

Cambodian affairs analyst Meas Ny told Voice of America he supports moves by Cambodia to strengthen its armed forces amid increasingly instability in the world.
 

But he warned that donations of military hardware can lead to more borrowing and rising debt.
 

“Before we got planes, but had to borrow money to buy petrol to fly them. That’s something the government should be thinking about,” he said.