SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia — Cambodian on Saturday presided over the opening of an expansion of his country’s main naval base, which analysts and the U.S. government suspect will be used as a strategic outpost by China.
Construction of a new pier to accommodate much larger ships, a dry dock for repairs and other features was at the Ream Naval Base in southern Cambodia, on the Gulf of Thailand.
The project has drawn great attention mainly because Washington — noting that China is Cambodia’s closest ally and main source of investment and aid — believes that Beijing has been secretly granted special and exclusive privileges to use the base, a claim repeatedly denied by Cambodian officials.
Hun Manet at the inauguration noted that the ceremony was taking place two weeks ahead of a visit to Cambodia by Chinese President Xi Jinping. He praised Xi’s government for help in building the expansion and other projects, describing bilateral relations as good and strong.
At the same time, he declared that the Ream base expansion was not hidden from other countries, and said warships from all friendly countries can visit the base and hold joint military exercises, except for very big warships that cannot be physically accommodated.
“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 in the future, of violating its Constitution by allowing any country’s troops to establish exclusive bases on Cambodian territory,” he said.
China’s Defense Ministry, in a statement issued in Beijing, said the China-Cambodia Ream Naval Base Joint Support and Training Center — part of the facility that was officially opened Saturday — will support a wide range of joint operations.
Areas of cooperation will include counterterrorism, disaster prevention and relief, humanitarian assistance and joint training, the ministry said in a news release.
“Necessary personnel from both countries will be stationed at the site to ensure smooth operation of the center. The center’s establishment and operation are based on mutual respect and equal consultation between China and Cambodia,” the statement said.
Cao Qingfeng, a visiting senior member of China’s Central Military Commission, said in a speech that the base “will surely become a new starting point to continuously promote the relationship between the two armies and consolidate the development.” A contingent of at least 100 Chinese sailors who have been on temporary duty at the base also took part, marching and singing.
The senior U.S. diplomat in Cambodia, Chargé d’Affaires Bridgette Walker, attended the ceremony but declined to comment on it.
The base is slated to host a Japanese vessel in the near future as the first foreign warship to make a port call at the base. The Cambodian government described giving priority to Japanese warships as a tribute to the high level of openness in cooperation, relations, and mutual trust.
The announcement of Japan’s planned port call showed that Cambodia is likely trying to project that it’s open to countries other than China, said Euan Graham, a senior defense analyst with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
“This would appear to be a conscious demonstration by Cambodia” that Ream is not exclusively for China’s military, he said.
Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force has confirmed Cambodia’s invitation to Japanese ships, but refused to give any specifics, citing regular operational security regulations.
Fears over China’s activity at the Ream base arose in 2019 when The Wall Street Journal reported that an early draft of an agreement seen by U.S. officials would allow China 30-year use of the base, where it would be able to post military personnel, store weapons and berth warships.
China and Cambodia , in an expression of the close political, military and economic ties between the two authoritarian states. That involved demolishing naval structures previously built at the base by the U.S., with little explanation.
In September, Cambodia’s Defense Ministry said that China of the type docked there while the expansion project was still underway.
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Associated Press correspondent Christopher Bodeen in Taipei contributed to this report.
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