Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base, expanded and upgraded with Beijing’s assistance, was officially inaugurated on April 5 amid fears that it could become a Chinese military outpost. Interestingly, shortly after it became operational, Chinese troops launched joint military drills with Cambodia at the base.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet presided over the opening of Cambodia’s main naval base. The facility, which China constructed, features a new pier to accommodate much larger ships than the ones that the Cambodian Navy possesses, a dry dock for maintenance, and a Cambodia-China joint training and logistics center.
The base has been in the headlines for the last several years due to sustained concerns that it will be earmarked for exclusive use by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) forces. The United States and other Southeast Asian states that remain at odds with Beijing share these concerns.
However, the Cambodian Prime Minister regularly refutes these suspicions and claims, citing the country’s constitution, which prohibits the exclusive use of any military facility by a foreign force.
Speaking at the inauguration, Hun Manet said, “I would like to take this opportunity to make it clear that the Cambodian government led by the Cambodian People’s Party has no intention, in the past or today or the future, of violating its Constitution by allowing any country’s troops to establish exclusive bases on Cambodian territory.”
The Prime Minister also reassured that the facility was not off-limits to other countries while asserting that all friendly countries are invited to use the base and dock their warships.
The statement was in line with last month’s invitation from Cambodia to Japan, inviting its warships to make their first port call at the newly opened port.
Last year, the leadership invited US warships to dock at the port in an attempt to assuage concerns regarding China’s use of the facility. At the time, Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol said, “The Ream Naval Base is not for the Chinese. The Chinese provided us with the assistance to expand the Ream Naval Base for our national defense, not to be used by the Chinese or any military against another country.”
Chinese Troops Conduct Military Drills At Ream
Shortly after the newly constructed port was inaugurated, the “Golden Dragon-2025” joint exercise between China and Cambodia was launched at the China-Cambodia Joint Support and Training Center at Port Ream.
As part of the drills, the warships from both sides engaged in training exercises, which included equipment drills, formation maneuvering, and maritime communication. State-owned Global Times reported, citing a CCTV broadcast, that this has established a strong basis for upcoming multi-service joint training involving air, sea, and land troops.
While the Golden Dragon drills are routinely conducted between the two countries, the 2025 edition is being keenly watched for its geopolitical signaling and implications. Last year, Sihanoukville, which also houses the contentious Ream Naval Base, was one of the locations for the Golden Dragon-2024 drills.
Speaking about the latest drills, a renowned Chinese military affairs expert, Fu Qianshao, told Chinese media: “This marks the first time the ‘Golden Dragon’ series joint exercises have been conducted at the newly established joint center at Port Ream, serving as a measure to maintain regional stability.”
Fu said the joint exercise further strengthens mutual trust and understanding in maritime and naval cooperation between the two nations, stressing that the naval port now has relatively comprehensive facilities capable of providing corresponding support for naval operations.
The expert also noted that such military exercises, which will likely involve land and air elements in addition to naval ones, are expected to occur more frequently in the future.
China maintains that the center at the Ream Naval Base has two functions: joint support and joint training. It states that this newly inaugurated center will provide logistical support for counterterrorism, disaster relief, and humanitarian assistance operations.
The latest military drills at Ream are likely to be watched by the United States, which remains suspicious of Chinese intentions. American officials and analysts have warned that establishing a Chinese naval facility in Cambodia is an essential component of Beijing’s plan to build a network of military outposts worldwide.
Controversy Surrounding Ream Naval Base
While China boasts of a massive naval fleet, the PLA Navy remains constrained by the lack of a worldwide network of bases and logistical support.
While China’s overseas military network bases are nowhere near those of the US, Beijing has been trying to exert influence. It is aware that to exert global dominance and become a true Blue Water Navy, it needs a wide network of naval bases. Thus, it has been looking for new bases to further its ‘blue water navy’ ambitions.
The country currently has only one naval base—Djibouti, in East Africa. Thus, the addition of the strategically located Ream Naval Base would allow China to more effectively project its naval power throughout the Indo-Pacific area and beyond.
The Cambodian Navy has long exploited the Ream Naval Base, located near the entrance of the Gulf of Thailand, as a point of entry into the South China Sea and other regions. If taken over by China, the base would expand and improve Beijing’s naval operational capabilities toward the critical shipping lanes of the Malacca Strait, a pivotal choke point, in any potential conflict involving the US and its regional allies.
In the event of a conflict in the South China Sea, where China remains embroiled in multiple active territorial disputes, Beijing could utilize the facility to block the Malacca Strait and prevent any possible reinforcements for its enemies via this vital route.
A Hong Kong-based analyst, Brian Wong, told the South China Morning Post that the Chinese-sponsored upgrades to the base are part of Beijing’s larger strategy to de-risk supply lines, break marine chokepoints, and diversify regional maritime access as part of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Notably, the suspicions in the US are not without a reason. After upgrades given by China, the base can now accommodate an aircraft carrier, a kind of vessel that Cambodia does not possess.
China, on the other hand, has two operational aircraft carriers and is set to induct a third—Fujian—later this year. Additionally, the bigger pier would allow Chinese aircraft carriers, Type 075 amphibious assault ships, Type 072A landing ships, and fleet supply ships to sail in.
The photographs of the Ream Naval Base captured in July 2023 revealed a nearly completed pier that bore a striking resemblance, in both dimensions and design, to a pier utilized by the Chinese military at the base in Djibouti.
China has also maintained a consistent presence at the Ream Port for more than a year. Two Chinese warships have been seen docked at the port since at least December 2023, with only a brief departure recorded in between. The Cambodian military later confirmed that China would transfer two ships and train Cambodian crews on how to operate them in a bid to bolster the Southeast Asian country’s defense capability.
All these factors have together given the impression that China is seeking a more permanent presence in the region.
There has been suspicion that China is likely using its deep cooperation, immense economic capital, and political influence to expand its access to the base. China has been funding several big-ticket infrastructure projects in the country, including the Dara Sakor International Airport (3,900-meter runway) project by China’s Union Development Group and a 15-meter deep-water port in Kampot.
Intriguingly, the strengthening of the cooperation between Cambodia and China has corresponded with a deteriorating relationship between Cambodia and the US.
For instance, a US defense attache was denied full access to the Ream Naval Base during an invited visit in 2021. Additionally, several US-funded buildings were demolished as part of a planned upgrade initiated by China. Cambodian officials, however, clarified that China had nothing to do with the demolitions.
The US and Cambodia had held military drills at the Ream Naval Base before its upgradation was kick-started in 2022. However, over the course of its construction, the two sides have become increasingly alienated.
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