Xmer naval command heasquarters is a Vietcong gift

Vietnam, Cambodia navies boost ties

06/07/2012
VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA

The Royal Cambodian Army’s naval command headquarters, a friendship gift from the Vietnam Naval High Command, was inaugurated in Kampong Speu province, Cambodia on July 5.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony, Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister General Tea Banh thanked the Vietnamese Party, Government, army and people for their effective assistance to the Royal Cambodian Army.

For his part, Deputy Defence Minister Admiral Nguyen Van Hien said during Vietnam’s struggles for national independence and reunification and Cambodia’s fight for independence and escape from a genocidal regime, the two countries’ people and armed forces always stood side by side and assisted each other.

Obituary for former Colonel Pok Sam Im of the Khmer Republic Navy

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Cambodian sea patrol boats used mainly for decoration purpose?

Cambodian sea patrol boats are not for threatening other countries

29 November 2007
By Keo Nimol
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Prime minister Hun Sen of Cambodia said that the fact that Cambodia now owns more sea patrol boats than before does not mean that Cambodia wants to threaten any neighboring countries.

During a speech given at a seminar dealing with high sea safety, on 28 November, in Phnom Penh, Hun Sen said that the fact that the Cambodian Navy owns new patrol boats, recently bought from China, was to protect the oil exploration in Cambodia sea, and to fight against naval crimes only.

Hun Sen said: “Therefore, when sea bandits or criminals think that Cambodian seas make a safe refuge for them, this kind of thought led me to travel to China to search to acquire additional ships for our navy, in addition to the ships provided by the former Soviet Union which are old. Now all these equipments (ships) have all arrived, our naval capacity is now boosted. The boosting of the naval forces does not mean that Cambodia is threatening neighboring countries, such as Vietnam and Thailand, to the contrary, we are participating with our partners to prevent and destroy trans-border terrorism and crimes, and we (want to) guarantee the safety for business, such as oil which is being explored currently, and which is moving toward being a trade (sector).”

Recently, Cambodia bought 9 patrol ships from China at a cost of $60 million.

(SRP MP) Son Chhay, a member of the National Assembly permanent committee, said that, even though Cambodia owns a number of patrol ships, he believes that Cambodia seas are very vast, and these Chinese ships are gas guzzlers, therefore they may hamper the ability of these patrol ships at sea.

Son Chhay said: “Regarding the ships we bought from China, from what we know, they use a lot of gasoline, therefore, they cannot guarantee intensive patrol operations conducted on our seas, based on the number of ships we just received recently.”

In the past, patrol and observation in Cambodia seas were very weak, and information about maritime border violation are usually not publicized too much.

The sea safety issue raised by Hun Sen coincides with the visit of a US warship docked in Sihanoukville. The visiting USS Essex holds 2,000 Marine soldiers, and it also carries several planes and tanks.