China Supplies Cambodia with Anti-Aircraft Hardware in New Military Aid

China has provided Cambodia with shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, add FN-6 currently operated (photo : militaryphotos)

China have provided Cambodia with shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, Cambodia's defense minister said on Friday, as the two countries agreed on new military aid to boost close ties.

Cambodia is one of China's most stalwart allies in Asia, routinely backing China's position at international forums in a region where China and United States vie for influence.

"The visit of the defense minister of the People's Republic of China has achieved good results," Defense Minister Tea Banh told reporters after a signing ceremony with his visiting Chinese counterpart, Chang Wanquan.

Tea Banh attended a meeting of defense ministers from the region this week where they scrapped plans for a joint statement because they failed to agree on whether to include a reference to the disputed South China Sea, which China had objected to.

Tea Banh made no mention of those negotiations but said China had recently delivered shoulder-fired missiles.

"We don't need warplanes because in the current situation, we have already set up anti-aircraft system to defend our airspace," he said.

He gave no details about the type of missiles but said Cambodia was seeking longer-range hardware.

"We need to be additionally equipped to fire long range or even fast planes can't escape," he said.

He said China would also help with training and would build military academies.

Chang told Tea Banh that China would continue to help Cambodia develop and modernize its armed forces, deepening cooperation on every level, the Chinese Defense Ministry said in a statement.

"China and Cambodia are friendly neighbors, with a traditional friendship and that is long-standing and well established," Chang said.

Cambodia has border disputes with neighboring Vietnam and Thailand and one dispute with Thailand has in recent years occasionally resulted in brief exchanges of fire.

In 2013, Cambodia took delivery of 12 Harbin Z-9 helicopters using a $195 million Chinese loan. The next year, it received a donation of 26 Chinese trucks and 30,000 military uniforms.

China is also Cambodia's biggest foreign investor and a big buyer of its natural resource exports.

Chinese made Z-9 Cambodian military training helicopter crash

Five Cambodian soldiers died and one was seriously injured

Five dead in Cambodian military helicopter crash

Five Cambodian soldiers died and one was seriously injured Monday in a helicopter crash during military training on the outskirts of the capital Phnom Penh, an official said. The helicopter was one of 12 choppers Cambodia bought from China last year to boost its military capacity. 

Cambodian Army tests the newly acquired RM-70 Czech-made 122 MLRS

In December 2013, Army of Cambodia has performed a live fire exercise to test the capacity of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces in defending territorial integrity, an army chief said. During the drill, Cambodian soldiers have fired with BM-21 and for the first time with the new RM-70 122mm MLRS Multiple Launch Rocket System.

General. Pol Saroeun, commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, said that the military forces of Cambodia perform for the first time live fire exercises with the newly acquired RM-70. "The purpose of the exercise is to strengthen the capacity for our armed forces in defending our territorial integrity and national interest only," he told reporters at the event. "The drill is also to test our new weapons."About 145 shells had been fired and all had hit the target in the distance between 20 km and 40 km, he said.

It was the third time that the country held live fire drill with BM-21 rocket launcher vehicle. The first one was made in March 2010 and the second was in April 2013..Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh was also present at this exercise of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, to see the new Czech-made RM-70 in real combat condition.Cambodia has begun to strengthen its defense capacity since it had territorial dispute with Thailand in 2008. The dispute had triggered several times of deadly armed clashes between troops of the two countries.