What Is China Doing In Ream Naval Base Of Cambodia?

Construction at Ream Naval Base at Cambodia’s Gulf of Thailand coast is in full swing, satellite imagery shows. As a part of a China-backed redevelopment plan, this is China’s strategic move into expanding its military prowess at sea.

Over August and September 2021, three new buildings have been constructed, while several areas have been cleared off foliage. A road has also been put under development. Surprisingly, the activity comes amid concern by the United States over China’s growing activity at the base. It is worth noting that a US-built facility was razed in 2019-2020. While this happened, simultaneously, there were indications of changes at the Ream in 2019 itself. A detailed report by an American media house had revealed this with a fact that indeed China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy had signed a secret deal with Cambodia granting it future access to the base.

However, Cambodia refuted the report. In October 2020 it then emerged that a building constructed by the United States at Ream (the tactical headquarters of the National Committee on Maritime Security) had been demolished, along with a maintenance facility and boat ramp.  

Cambodia’s Ministry of Defense later said the headquarters would be rebuilt further along the coast at Koh Preab, near the port of Sihanoukville, to make way for the expansion of the naval base. In June, United States Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman visited Cambodia, and was asked why the US funded buildings were demolished with any prior notice?

In response, Cambodia agreed to a defense American attaché’s visit by a Colonel Marcus Ferrara, to the base on 11 June. But it later retracted complete access and took to the media to say that it had the right to protect its own military secrecy and owned US no explanation. America has reasons to believe there is more than one can see here in the picture. The Cambodian authorities have maintained that the construction work, involving a newly-dredged port and ship-repair facility, is part of an expansion project in Cambodia’s national interest, while insisting that the Southeast Asian nation does not intend to play host to Chinese troops.

 

Yet whatever the truth, or the strategic implications of a potential Chinese staging post on the Gulf of Thailand, the growing disquiet in Washington over the Beijing-backed upgrade of the base reflects a realization that there is very little the United States can do to avoid yielding influence to China in Cambodia.