China is reportedly planning to create a naval facility in Cambodia behind closed doors, according to Western diplomats.
Officials claim the base would be used exclusively by China’s People’s Liberation Army, speaking on the condition of anonymity owing to the delicacy of the topic. The Chinese station is being built on the north side of the Gulf of Thailand, very opposite to Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base.
“We assess that the Indo-Pacific is an important piece for China’s leaders, who see the Indo-Pacific as China’s rightful and historic sphere of influence. They view China’s rise there as part of a global trend toward a multipolar world where major powers more forcefully assert their interests in their perceived sphere of influence,” one Western representative stated.
China’s only other overseas military installation is in Djibouti, an East African nation.
Beijing, the person noted, is banking on Cambodia’s unwillingness or inability to question China’s basic interests through diplomatic, economic, and military intimidation, punishment, and inducements.
A Chinese official told the Post over the weekend that the Chinese military will use a section of the site. The official, however, claimed that the base would just be used by the military, saying that scientists would also utilize it. The Chinese would not be involved in any activity on the Cambodian side of the base, according to the official.
