This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission.
China is expected to soon hand over to the Cambodia navy two warships, a deep-draft pier long enough to accommodate aircraft carriers and facilities it has developed at a base on Cambodia’s coast, Cambodian sources with knowledge of the matter told Radio Free Asia.
About 100 Chinese naval personnel have been “working day and night” at a section of the Ream naval base in Sihanoukville province on the Gulf of Thailand preparing for the transfer to Cambodian control, which is likely to happen at the end of September, said the sources.
The section of the base has been off-limits to Cambodian staff, the sources added, but the facilities — all funded and developed by China — will soon be handed over.
In return, analysts say it is likely that the two countries have reached an agreement giving the Chinese navy privileged access to the new base, where until now no foreign vessels have been allowed to dock.
Two People’s Liberation Army Navy, or PLAN, warships can be seen berthed at the new pier, next to an area being developed, an RFA reporter saw on a recent visit to the area.
Construction cranes and trucks are visible as are new-looking buildings.
The two warships, which RFA identified as PLAN’s Type 056A missile corvettes with hull numbers 630 and 631, will be transferred to the Cambodian navy together with the new facilities, said the sources, who declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the issue.
The Chinese navy has been training Cambodian naval personnel how to operate the ships since December, when two vessels of the same class arrived in Ream. RFA was the first foreign media to report on their arrival.
Several military analysts, including Collin Koh, senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, previously told RFA that Cambodia likely had granted access for differential, such as rotational, deployment of Chinese ships at Ream “that’s strictly speaking not a basing arrangement” in order to avoid contravening its constitution.
Thomas Shugart, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security in Washington, said that there would be an at least semi-permanent logistical presence of the Chinese navy at the base to support visiting warships.
According to satellite images, the new pier is estimated to be roughly 300 meters (1,000 feet) in length and “it ought to be able to accommodate any ship in the PLA Navy’s fleet, including its new Type 003 aircraft carrier,” Shugart told RFA.
The naval base has seen a rapid expansion and extensive upgrade over the past year, according to satellite images. On-site observation by RFA staff confirmed that besides the new pier, it now has a dry dock, a wharf and several sets of big buildings including offices and barracks.
RFA contacted the Cambodian Ministry of Defense for comment on the handover of the facility and the two ships but did not receive a response.
US concerns
China and Cambodia began developing the Ream naval base with Beijing’s funding in June 2021 to the alarm of the United States and some of Cambodia’s neighbors worried about China’s growing military presence so close to the disputed waters of the South China Sea.
The United States expressed its “serious concerns” about China’s apparent control over parts of the Cambodian naval facility.
Several U.S.-funded facilities including a Tactical Headquarters of the National Committee for Maritime Security, and the Rigid-Hulled Inflatable Boat Maintenance Facility were demolished or relocated from the base in 2020.
In 2021, a facility built by the Vietnamese called the “Joint Vietnamese Friendship” building was also removed from the base, reportedly to avoid conflicts with Chinese personnel.
Cambodia has repeatedly denied that China has been given exclusive military access to the base, saying that would be a violation of Cambodia’s constitution.
Chinese officials also said that assistance in upgrading and renovating the Cambodian naval base was aimed at enhancing Cambodia’s ability to maintain maritime territorial integrity and combat maritime crime, not securing a potential military base.
Foreign analysts question the continuous presence of the two Chinese warships at the base – which in their opinion indicated that China was establishing a permanent foothold on the Gulf of Thailand.
RFA’s analysis, however, has confirmed that the two vessels seen at Ream this month are different from the two that in early December last year became the first foreign warships allowed to dock at the base.
The ships there earlier were the Wenshan (hull number 623) and Bazhong (hull number 625), which, beside training Cambodian sailors, took part in the joint Golden Dragon exercise in May with Cambodian naval vessels.
The ships at the base this month are the Aba (hull number 630) and Tianmen (hull number 631), both commissioned in January 2021.
The 90-meter (300-foot) Type 056A corvette is similar to the U.S.-built littoral combat ship, suitable for mid-range and littoral missions and equipped for anti-submarine warfare. The Chinese navy’s South Sea Fleet, which is responsible for activities in the Southeast Asia region, has 20 such vessels.
China discontinued building the Type 056A in 2019 following the construction of the Aba.
Cambodian defense ministry’s spokesperson Gen. Chhum Socheat said in May that Phnom Penh was planning to acquire such ships to serve its needs. It is unclear whether and how much Cambodia will pay for the two corvettes at next month’s expected transfer.
RFA also saw first-hand the area in Ream National Park near the naval base that has been assigned to the Cambodian defense ministry to develop an air defense command and general headquarters, as well as a naval radar system. Work has begun at the site on a hill, where trees have been cut down to clear the ground and build roads.
