Cambodia's Chinese-Built Naval Base Holds Grand Opening

Chinese dredgers at work at a new finger pier at Ream. Land preparation for a new drydock can be seen at bottom center, along with major construction at top right (BlackSky) — Chinese dredgers at work on the new finger pier at Ream, upper left. Land preparation for a new drydock can be seen at bottom center, along with major construction at top right (BlackSky)

More than a year after Chinese warships established a presence at the new naval base at Ream, Cambodia, the Cambodian government has announced that the base will soon hold its grand opening - and will host a Japanese warship as its first foreign guest.

Ream Naval Base is a Cambodian Navy station that has been modernized and expanded over the past few years with Chinese assistance. Chinese PLA Navy warships berthed for months at a newly-constructed pier at Ream in early 2024, raising concerns of a permanent Chinese presence in the Gulf of Thailand.

Although Cambodia has long insisted that the base will be open to many foreign navies, it was not used to host the littoral combat ship USS Savannah in December 2024, nor was it used to welcome the Japanese destroyers Shimakaze and Suzunami when they arrived at Sihanoukville in February 2024.

The base will formally open on April 2 with a visit by Cambodia's ruler Hun Manet, son of Hun Sen, who ruled the country for more than 30 years and still controls the nation's senate. The Japan Maritime Self Defense Force's next call in Cambodia will be hosted at Ream, Cambodian armed forces spokesman Maj. Gen. Thong Solimo said this week.

"This would appear to be a conscious demonstration by Cambodia, that Ream is not exclusively for [China]," ASPI's Euan Graham told AP.

In an earlier era, the U.S. Navy used to hold exercises with the Cambodian Navy at Ream Naval Base, and the U.S. and its allies invested in building small-scale infrastructure for the base. That changed rapidly after China began growing its economic and military ties to Cambodia. In 2019, the Wall Street Journal reported on an agreement between Cambodia and China to grant the PLA Navy a 30-year lease on Ream Naval Base, in exchange for assistance in expanding the facility. Beginning in 2022, China invested heavily in base construction and installed military-grade infrastructure beyond Cambodia's ability to construct on its own, like a carrier-sized finger pier and a large new drydock. Space-based surveillance company BlackSky has noted that the pier is identical to the PLA Navy's new finger pier in Djibouti.

The U.S. Navy has not called at Ream since Chinese construction began, but earlier this month, Cambodian officials said that U.S. warships would also be able to call at the base in the future.