Cambodia reopens Ream Naval Base, prepares for Xi Jinping's visit
The strategic infrastructure in the south-west had a makeover thanks to Chinese support. For Prime Minister Hun Manet, the country will not allow foreign military bases on its territory, but is open to Chinese aid. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit the country to promote China as the only reliable partner for the region, taking advantage of US disengagement and Trump's tariffs.
Phnom Penh (AsiaNews) – Cambodian authorities have formally reopened the Ream Naval Base, on the south-west coast of the country after completing expansion works with the substantial Chinese support, and about two weeks before a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The event provided the Cambodian government with an opportunity to reiterate that no foreign country will be allowed to establish a base in the country, putting to rest rumours to the contrary.
Prime Minister Hun Manet himself was present to mark the official reopening on Saturday morning, together with China’s ambassador to Cambodia and a member of the Chinese Central Military Commission.
“The Royal Government of Cambodia, led by the Cambodian People’s Party, in the past, now and in the future will not violate its own constitution to allow any single foreign country to put a military base in the country,” Hun Manet said at the ceremony.
The reopening of the Ream Naval Base comes almost two weeks before Xi Jinping's official visit to Cambodia, a country closely aligned with China in the Southeast Asian region and for this reason the subject of criticism in the past by other ASEAN nations.
“We have nothing to hide," the prime minister said, who welcomed “all friends" who intend to participate in the joint military exercises at the base.
Last August, during a visit to the base, a reporter from Radio Free Asia (RFA) was able to see the base’s rapid pace of development. He was told that at least a hundred Chinese naval personnel were “working day and night".
The United States has repeatedly expressed great concern about the lack of transparency in the development of the Ream Naval Base, precisely because of China’s opaque role.
At the same time, some of Cambodia’s neighbours, particularly in Southeast Asia, fear that a strategic foothold at Ream would give China better control over the Indochina and the South China Sea.
Although the prime minister noted during the reopening ceremony that the Constitution of Cambodia does not allow foreign bases in the country, some observers argue that China, having invested a large sum of money in the project, would have preferential access to Ream.
In fact, on Sunday, China and Cambodia held joint military exercises in the area, with warships from both countries conducting exercises of various kinds, including formation manoeuvring.
According to the Global Times, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party and the most important Chinese newspaper in English, the two countries will probably conduct other joint exercises using the very base in the future.
Xi Jinping's tour of three Southeast Asian countries fits with this picture (Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia), a sign that China is trying to capitalise on the current regional unease caused by a shift in US policy.
The visit would mark Xi's first overseas trip of the year and the first to Southeast Asia since the one in Hanoi in December 2023 and comes amid the great uncertainty caused by US President Donald Trump's tariffs.
For this reason, Xi is very likely to use this opportunity to present China as a solid and reliable partner, unlike the increasingly erratic and sporadic nature of the US role in the region.
This, in turn, would boost Beijing's long-standing message to Southeast Asia that, despite occasional tensions, China is a geopolitical reality while the United States is not.
As for Cambodia, it confirms the solid relations between the two countries, although the Chinese president has not visited it officially since 2016.
In addition to the meeting with Hun Manet, the visit will be an opportunity to highlight China’s development assistance in the wake of the cuts in foreign aid made by the White House.
In recent weeks, US cuts have forced the cancellation of aid projects in Cambodia, in child health care, nutrition, sanitation and mine clearance, giving China a chance to step in with similar ventures.
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24/07/2023 19:18
27/03/2020 17:03
