Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base upgrade sparks worries of China link before US diplomat’s visit
- A new port and a ship repair facility are likely to have been built just north of where US-funded facilities were demolished last year, a think tank says
- US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman is visiting the Southeast Asian nation, which counts Beijing as a close ally, as part of an Asean tour
The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), which is part of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said in a report released on May 21 and updated on May 28 that the new buildings appeared to have been completed just days before US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman was due to visit the Southeast Asian country.
AMTI said satellite imagery indicated that land clearing began sometime after April 17, construction started in early May, and the structures were completed by May 21. The expansions likely included a newly dredged port and a ship repair facility built, it added.
“The breakneck pace of construction at Ream [and] lack of transparency … continue to fuel suspicions that the upgrades there are intended for China’s benefit as much as Cambodia’s,” the report said. “And those worries will likely be high on the list of issues raised by Deputy Secretary Sherman in Phnom Penh.”
Sherman is expected to visit Phnom Penh and meet Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday during an 11-day tour that will also take her to Brussels, Ankara, Jakarta, Bangkok and Honolulu.