These shapes appear to validate mounting concerns in Washington that China is extending its military reach beyond the three disputed islands in the South China Sea that it has already taken and fortified.
The forms are Chinese navy 1,500-ton corvettes, or type A56 warships, and they are berthed next to a recently constructed dock in China that can hold considerably larger ships. There are more onshore facilities that were presumably constructed by China for the Chinese navy.
The government of Cambodia has consistently refuted the notion, noting the prohibition on any long-term foreign military presence in the constitution and declaring that Ream is amenable to it.
“Please recognize that this is a Cambodian base, not a Chinese one,” stated Seun Sam, a Royal Academy of Cambodia policy analyst. “Cambodia is a small country with weak military capabilities.
More training from allies abroad is what we need, particularly from China.
Others, however, are observing with mistrust.
