How China Reconstructed the Cambodian Naval Bottom

In 2020, an interesting incident occurred at Cambodia’s Ream Army Bottom in the Gulf of Thailand.

Shortly after filing – and rapidly withdrawing – a request from the US Department of Defense to refurbish parts of the land, Cambodian authorities began destroying US-funded structures that were already there, only to Were damaged in four years.

After working on Chinese language.

Since December, two Chinese warships have halted almost all life at the booming port. And the painting being done on the playground in Reem is in line with the Chinese construction spree that is stretching from near the Purple Sea to the South China Sea.

The Chinese military’s presence near one of the world’s most important sea routes raises fundamental questions about Beijing’s ambitions. A resurgent China is bringing countries like Cambodia into its orbit, moving the remaining US military bases from a distance from the most significant in the world.

“The prospect of a permanent Chinese military presence in Cambodia raises significant geopolitical concerns,” said Sophal Ier, a Cambodian-American political scientist at the Thunderbird College of International Control at Arizona Circumstance College. “This could prompt strategic adjustments on the U.S. side and increase global perception of Chinese militarization.”

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On December 3, 2023, Cambodia’s Defense Minister announced that two Chinese military corvettes were visiting Ream for joint military exercises. Satellite images show that the warships had arrived two days earlier. They have been living in the neighborhood since then.

Corvettes are ships that dock at the ancient Chinese-built pier in Ream, which will accommodate ships up to a distance somewhat better than any ship in the Cambodian fleet. Cambodia’s private small corvettes dock at nondescript piers much to the south.

Over the years, US officials and Eastern naval vessels have also attempted to consult Ream. They were completely denied entry.

Pentagon spokesman John Supple said, “We have a clear view of the People’s Republic of China’s efforts to establish foreign military bases, including Reem.” “We are particularly concerned about the lack of transparency about the intentions of the People’s Republic of China and the conditions it has set, as countries should be free to make sovereign choices that support their interests and regional security. Are.”

Cambodians reject any intention to better the Chinese language.

When US Defense Secretary Lloyd J. When Austin III traveled to Cambodia in early June, he was told by his other numbers there that China was only helping Cambodia modernize its military, not building up ground for itself. ,

“The Ream military base belongs to Cambodia, not any other country’s military base,” May Dina, a commander at the base, told The Fresh York Times. “It is not correct to say that China has control over the base.”

Mr May Dina said that with construction work still underway in Reem, foreign ships would be allowed to dock there. He said the foreign ships that were docked there at half the speed – Chinese corvettes – were for “training only”.

energy projection

China’s premier Xi Jinping has announced a grand vision for his emerging superpower. One of their military objectives: a blue-water force that could take Beijing’s power to a distance from China’s shores.

Nowadays, when it comes to ship selection, China boasts the largest military in the region. And it has added aircraft carriers to its fleet.

However, navies of this size and scope, operating thousands of miles from home, require access to bases outside the country.

In 2017, due to ambiguity about what was being built, China completed its first international park in Djibouti, within the Horn of Africa.

At the same pace, China finalized an even more shocking project in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.

By extracting coral and sand from the ocean floor, state-owned dredgers created military installations on what were once tranquil atolls called the Spratlys. A world tribunal has ruled that some pieces of land are not of Chinese size.

More or less similar state-owned dredgers are now operating in Ream. From the reclaimed land, they have built a pier and dry dock, the distance of each of which somewhat exceeds the desires of the Cambodian fleet.

However, unlike the installations on the Spratlys, Ream no longer has construction sites reserved for missile launchers or fighter jet hangars. According to satellite analysts, Ream may have been intended primarily as a resupply station for the Chinese military.

Gregory B., director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and Global Research. “Reim is like China playing roulette as it looks for ports to build the blue-water navy that Xi Jinping wants,” Poling said. “I don’t think any Chinese planner looked at all the possible locations around the world and said, ‘Ream is what we need.’ It’s more that Reem is one of the only ones on offer because China has no real allies and few friends.

Business Beachheads

Even as dredgers were running overtime on the Spratlys, Mr Xi stood by the White Area and shrugged off fears that China’s ancient islands – now home to fighter jet-ready runways, radar domes and missiles The warehouses are full – were for military operations. Chinese officials said they could be a haven for tourism.

China’s grassroots structure has relied on state-owned companies to shape initial efforts, which are legally bound to advance the country’s national security interests. Chinese officials have been clear about the strategy: “First civilian, then military,” is how they put it.

It is more straightforward to start industrial beachcombing in countries where China already has economic influence.

Recently, Cambodia has increasingly fallen into the hands of China. Its longtime leader, Hun Sen, has been critical of the United States for linking its aid and funding to improving the country’s human rights file.

Now, Cambodia is led by Mr Hun Sen’s son, Hun Manet, who, although a graduate of the USA Army Academy, has so far shown little inclination to diverge from his father’s pro-China stance .

According to its commander Mr May Dina, Reem is 80% complete. Army analysts are expecting the base to be completed by the end of the pace.

Around the corner, a Chinese company has built a runway long enough for bombers in a once-protected forest area that Cambodia no longer has. The company says the airspace is largely aimed at Chinese language holidaymakers.

It is a tribute to the innocent explanations offered for the development of the Chinese language in the Spratlys and Djibouti, said Mr Eyer, the political scientist.

“China downplays or misrepresents the military nature of its overseas installations,” he said. “Despite Cambodia’s denials, the lack of transparency and close ties between Cambodia and China suggest the possibility that Reem could follow this familiar playbook.”