Footage Shows China and Ally Flexing Military Muscles
The Chinese military released footage showing it and Cambodia, one of Beijing's closest partners in Southeast Asia, conducting a military drill near the contested South China Sea.
The bilateral exercise, code-named Golden Dragon 2025 and held in Cambodia, enhanced both sides' capabilities in "jointly maintaining maritime security," said the Chinese navy on X, formerly Twitter.
The drill demonstrated both countries' militaries "have been well aligned in partnership for responding to all kinds of security threats," the Cambodian Defense Ministry said.
China has described its relations with Cambodia as "unbreakable and rock-solid," with both sides maintaining close military cooperation, including the construction of a joint logistics and training center at Cambodia's Ream naval base, which was put into service in April.
The center, which is China's second publicly acknowledged overseas base, enables the East Asian power to project and sustain its military presence in the South China Sea, where its territorial claims cover most of the waters and overlap with those of neighboring countries.
In a video released on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, the Chinese navy announced that a "combined joint field training exercise" was conducted at sea and in the air near Port Sihanoukville in Southwestern Cambodia, as part of Exercise Golden Dragon 2025, on Monday local time.
Chinese and Cambodian naval vessels were seen sailing in formation, the footage shows, while military personnel boarded a ship, subdued suspected hijackers, and rescued hostages. A Chinese Type 056A corvette, CNS Panzhihua, fired its gun at sea targets during the drill.
Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for the Chinese Defense Ministry, stated on Thursday that the seventh iteration of the Exercise Golden Dragon series, which commenced on May 14 and concluded on Wednesday, focused on counterterrorism and humanitarian assistance operations.
The exercise marked the first time the recently inaugurated joint center at Ream naval base was used to support drills at sea, the Chinese spokesperson said, claiming that the war game enhanced the two militaries' "command coordination and emergency response capabilities."
Meanwhile, the Cambodian Defense Ministry stated that the joint exercise achieved "excellent results," noting that the two militaries overcame obstacles and difficulties and are now ready to contribute to maintaining peace and security in the region and worldwide.
Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for the Chinese Defense Ministry, said on Thursday: "China and Cambodia are iron-clad friends with rock-solid relations. The Chinese and Cambodian militaries will work in concert to act on the important consensus between leaders of the two countries."
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said on April 12: "I highly appreciate China, which is an important partner supporting Cambodia's development in all sectors in all circumstances and without complicated conditions."
It remains unclear whether China will conduct further military exercises in Cambodia as tensions in the South China Sea remain high, with the United States having deployed an aircraft carrier to the region.
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