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 constru...