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[global times special correspondent in cambodia dong kaiying] on the 5th, several cambodian media including the cambodia-china times and the khmer times reported that the cambodian ministry of defense confirmed that china will provide cambodia with two type 056 frigates to enhance the country's maritime defense capabilities and ensure maritime security.

in an interview with a special correspondent of the global times on the 6th, cambodian defense ministry spokesperson mary suk kita said that the two warships were actively requested by cambodia to china based on its defense needs and will be used for maritime patrols, search and rescue missions and other humanitarian activities. according to the plan, the two frigates are expected to be delivered in 2025 or later.

according to the reporter, the type 056 frigate is a modern light frigate of the chinese navy, mainly used for maritime patrols, fishery protection, anti-submarine warfare and other defense tasks.

mary suketada told reporters that this military cooperation is in full compliance with cambodia's constitutional provisions and will not affect national sovereignty and territorial integrity. she reiterated that cambodia prohibits any country from establishing military bases in its territory, and these ships will only be used for cambodia's own defense and rescue missions, calling on the media to stop speculation and false reports about china's establishment of a military base in cambodia.

earlier, the us media speculated that china's move to provide warships to cambodia and assist in the expansion of the ream naval base may indicate that "china intends to establish a long-term military presence in the region." the us media claimed that china may obtain priority to use the base by donating warships and other means.

the cambodian government has firmly denied this. in an interview with reporters, mary sukettha stressed that all cooperation with china complies with the cambodian constitution, especially the clause prohibiting foreign countries from setting up military bases. she pointed out that cambodia's cooperation with china is aimed at improving national defense capabilities and ensuring national security and stability, rather than military expansion as speculated by the outside world.

regarding china's provision of warships, yang bo, secretary general of the royal academy of cambodia, said in an interview with a special correspondent of the global times on the 6th that cambodia's decision to request china to hand over the warships is fully in line with the current national defense strategy. the cambodian government is committed to strengthening its national defense, and accepting china's military assistance at this time is in line with international law and national interests.

yang bo added that cambodia, as a sovereign state, has the right to choose to accept assistance from friendly countries, and china is an important partner of cambodia. "china was chosen not only because of the long-term friendly relations between the two countries, but also because china's military technology can effectively enhance cambodia's defense capabilities and help further deepen the strategic cooperation between the two countries." he said that the two countries have established a good cooperative relationship in past joint exercises, and cambodia has experience in using chinese technology.

on may 27 this year, the china-cambodia "golden dragon-2024" joint exercise was held in the sea near sihanoukville, cambodia. with the background of several "terrorists" hijacking a cargo ship in a certain waters of cambodia and kidnapping the crew for ransom, the chinese navy dock landing ship qilianshan and the missile frigates wenshan and bazhong formed a joint maritime task force with cambodian naval ships and rushed to the "incident area" for disposal. wenshan and bazhong are both type 056a frigates, an improved version of the type 056 frigate.

yang bo believes that the frigates handed over by china to cambodia will greatly enhance cambodia's maritime patrol capabilities, while helping to maintain the security of maritime borders and respond to humanitarian missions. this not only fills the gap in cambodia's maritime defense capabilities, but also strengthens the country's role in regional security affairs. he said that in the past cambodia lacked sufficient capabilities to patrol and protect its waters and borders, and the ships acquired this time will significantly enhance cambodia's maritime defense capabilities.