In September, a spokesperson for Cambodia’s Defense Ministry announced that construction work to expand and upgrade Ream Naval Base, located on the Gulf of Thailand, is nearing completion. China has been redeveloping the site since reportedly signing an agreement with Phnom Penh in 2019 allowing the People’s Liberation Army Navy, or PLAN, to use the facility for an initial 30-year period, with the possibility of renewal. Five years later, the base now boasts a new 1,200-footlong pier, alongside which two Chinese warships have been berthed on a regular basis for much of the past year.
Cambodia insists Ream is not a Chinese overseas base, pointing to its constitutional prohibition on the permanent stationing of foreign troops in the country to back up its claim, and attributes the frequent presence of the Chinese warships there to a training mission for Cambodian sailors. Indeed, China is planning to give Cambodia two newly built Type 56 corvettes, the same model as the PLAN ships sighted at the base. Phnom Penh also maintains that naval vessels from other nations are welcome to dock at Ream. But to date, only Chinese ships have been present, with those from other countries routed to the nearby port at Sihanoukville.
Some neighboring states, like Vietnam, are uneasy about the implications of regular Chinese access to Ream, especially as Beijing has been more assertive over its territorial claims in the South China Sea in recent years. The United States, too, has voiced concerns over a perceived lack of transparency about the Chinese presence at the base. Observers have also noted that Ream could be used as a potential staging ground by China in a future conflict over Taiwan. But given the U.S. military footprint in the region through its own bases and access rights, Ream may not move the dial for Beijing significantly enough to matter.*