Cambodia: Expanded port funded by China opens in April
PHNOM PENH—A Cambodian naval port expansion funded by China that has raised concerns over Beijing’s growing military reach in the region has been completed. The port will host a Japanese vessel as the first foreign warship to make a port call, officials said Tuesday.
The Ream Naval Base—with a new pier to accommodate much larger ships, a dry dock for repairs and other features—will be inaugurated on April 2 by Prime Minister Hun Manet, according to Maj. Gen. Thong Solimo, spokesperson for Cambodia’s armed forces.
“Giving priority to Japanese warships … is a tribute to the high level of openness in cooperation, relations and mutual trust,” Thong said
China and Cambodia broke ground on the port project in 2022, prompting the United States to express concerns that it could become a strategically-important outpost for the Chinese navy on the Gulf of Thailand.
The Gulf is adjacent to the South China Sea, a key waterway that China claims almost in its entirety.
The United States has refused to recognize China’s sweeping claim and routinely conducts military maneuvers there to reinforce that they are international waters.
Initial fears grew last year after Chinese warships docked at the newly built pier for months, and two Japanese destroyers that made a Cambodia port call were routed to a different facility nearby.
