China is secretly building a naval facility for the exclusive use of its army in a part of Cambodia’s Ream base in the Gulf of Thailand, according to the US newspaper The Washington Post. The countries involved flatly denied these alleged plans by Beijing to establish a naval military presence in the area.
According to several unnamed Western officials told the newspaper, plans for the military base expansion finalized in 2020 called for the Chinese military to have “exclusive use” of the northern part of the compound, “while their presence would remain hidden.”
Another unidentified Chinese official confirmed to the media that his country’s military forces would use “a part” of the base, although he denied that “exclusive” character, since scientists will also be able to use it.
To date, China’s only overseas military base is a naval facility in Djibouti, on the east coast of Africa. This figure contrasts with the hundreds of jobs that the United States has scattered around the world, many of them in the immediate vicinity of the Asian giant (Japan, South Korea or the Philippines, among others)
Analysts agree that establishing a permanent base in the area would be a step of great strategic importance for China, since it would allow it to expand its influence in the region and strengthen its presence near key sea routes in Southeast Asia. “The Indo-Pacific is an important piece for the leaders of China”, who see this region as their “legitimate and historical” sphere of influence, assured one of the officials.
It is not the first time that rumors have surfaced about a possible Chinese military presence in Cambodia. In 2019, the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal pointed out that Beijing had signed a secret agreement with Phnom Penh to allow its army to use this same base, something that those involved flatly denied. This has not prevented China from actively participating in the expansion and improvement of the complex for years, as the Cambodian Defense Minister, Tea Banh, recognized in 2021. “We want to develop a suitable place, and Cambodia alone cannot do it,” he said at the time.
On the news that appeared today, Cambodia once again reiterated its refusal to allow the exclusive Chinese military presence in its territory. Government spokesman Phay Siphan confirmed that the two countries will begin construction of two port-related projects at the Ream base this week – the construction of a boat repair shop and slipway – but denied that troops Chinese will have exclusive access in the future.
“We invite diplomats in Cambodia to attend, so it’s nothing too secret,” he told Bloomberg by phone. Furthermore, he added that any exclusive military use of the base by a country would be a direct violation of the national constitution. “Everyone can use it. We are not looking for trouble,” he added.
From Beijing, the Chinese foreign spokesman, Zhao Lijian, pointed out that the renovation work at the Ream base is aimed at strengthening the Cambodian navy’s ability to safeguard territorial integrity and combat maritime crimes. “Our cooperation in all areas is open, transparent and fair,” he added.
The news comes just weeks after China unexpectedly signed a security agreement with the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. The pact, which allows the island nation to request the dispatch of Chinese security forces in case of problems, set off alarms in the United States and Australia, which suspect that it could open the way to a military base in the area, something that the signatories deny.
In this sense, the Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, expressed his concern on Tuesday about the new information and asked the Chinese government for clarity about its intentions. “We are in regular contact with the Cambodian government and have been constantly assured that no foreign army will have exclusive access to Ream,” he told reporters during his visit to Indonesia today. “We have been aware of Beijing’s activity in Ream for some time. We ask Beijing to be transparent and ensure that its activities support regional security and stability,” he concluded.
