China’s military
China to supply warships to Cambodia as scrutiny over Ream naval base heightens
Close defence ties between the two countries have prompted speculation China will benefit from exclusive use of the base it funded
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Seong Hyeon Choi
Published: 6:00pm, 7 Sep 2024Updated: 6:37pm, 7 Sep 2024
China will provide two warships to Cambodia in the latest sign of the increasingly close relationship between their militaries that has caused concern in the United States.
The ships will be the newly built Type 056 corvettes,
a type of vessel that has previously spent months at the Ream naval base following a Chinese-funded upgrade.
Maly Socheata, a spokeswoman for Cambodia’s defence ministry, said the ships were being provided after Cambodia had requested Chinese support and could be delivered as early as next year.
“It is in the aim of strengthening the capacity and ability of Cambodia to protect and maintain peace, stability, security as well as for supporting search and rescue operations and other humanitarian activities,” she said.
“Cooperation has to comply with the goals and the principles of the Cambodian constitution, especially the protection of its sovereignty, integrity and independence.”
China’s use of the Ream naval base after it provided funding for its expansion has attracted attention in the US, which is worried that it may give Beijing easy access to the Malacca Strait, a critical shipping route between the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.
While China is known to operate only one foreign military base – in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa – the relationship with Cambodia has prompted speculation it is looking to enhance its international reach.
In December, two Chinese warships, including the Wenshan, a Type 056 corvette,
docked at the Ream naval base as part of a joint exercise, becoming the first foreign ships to use its new facilities.
According to the Washington-based think tank the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in April, the Chinese ships spent more than four months at Ream after the exercise, heightening suspicions that China was being given “extended and exclusive” access to a new pier.
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While Phnom Penh has said the upgraded facilities will be open to visits from all navies, the Chinese ships are the only vessels to use them so far.
The Cambodian defence ministry said one of the reasons why the Chinese vessels stayed in Ream was because it was considering acquiring similar warships.
The country’s former prime minister Hun Sen has denied there is a secret agreement to grant China a permanent military presence at Ream, saying the constitution does not allow foreign military bases to be established on its territory.
Close defence ties between the two countries have prompted speculation China will benefit from exclusive use of the base it funded.
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