The Differences are: Data Management: CREATE_EXTERNAL_TABLE references data stored externally without importing it, while CREATE_CLOUD_TABLE creates a table whose data is managed and stored in cloud object storage by the database. Operations Supported: External tables primarily support read operations, whereas cloud tables support full DML operations. Use Cases: External tables are optimal for read-only access to large external datasets, whereas cloud tables are ideal for applications
Discussion: https://forums.oracle.com/ords/apexds/post/what-is-the-difference-between-create-cloud-table-and-creat-1412