Cambodia Buys 9 Chinese Patrol Boats

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Nine Chinese-built patrol boats intended to combat smuggling and other crimes arrived in Cambodia Wednesday.

Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh, who declined to reveal how much the boats cost, presided over a ceremony in which Cambodia received the boats from China.

Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jinfeng spoke at the ceremony at the coastal city of Sihanoukville, some 185 kilometers (114 miles) southwest of Phnom Penh but did not address the details of the deal.

Aside from combating crime at sea, the defense minister said the boats will be used to protect Cambodia's "natural resources" _ an apparent reference to recently discovered offshore oil.

In 2005, China provided six patrol boats to help the impoverished Southeast Asian country combat maritime crime. China has provided Cambodia with hundreds of millions of dollars in grants and loans in recent years.

Zhang said Chinese engineers will help train Cambodian naval personnel and assist in the maintenance of the vessels for two years.

"I hope that these sophisticated machines will increase (Cambodia's) capacity for cracking down on drug smuggling, trafficking activities and pirates, and in patrolling the sea border," she said.