PHNOM PENH: Cambodia and China on Wednesday (May 14) began their largest joint military exercises, involving advanced Chinese military hardware including artillery, warships and robot battle dogs.
Cambodia has long been a staunch ally of China, receiving billions of dollars in investments, and Washington has voiced concerns that Beijing is using a Cambodian naval base it renovated on the Gulf of Thailand to expand its influence in the region.
Nearly 900 Chinese military personnel and more than 1,300 Cambodian soldiers are taking part in the drills that will last until May 28, the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) said in a statement.
The drills will feature advanced Chinese military hardware, including armoured vehicles, helicopters, warships, reconnaissance drones and robot battle dogs, the statement said.
It said the annual exercises were to “develop deeper ties and cooperation” between the two armies.
“The exercises are bigger than last year in terms of both personnel and equipment,” RCAF spokesman Thong Solimo told AFP.
He said a large Chinese naval vessel, the Changbai Shan, docked at Cambodia’s Beijing-renovated Ream Naval Base on Monday with the military equipment for the drills.
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