Are cosier China-Cambodia ties a sign Beijing’s plan to set up military bases overseas is gathering steam?

Experts say China has a strategic interest in having more such bases worldwide, not just to project military power but also to safeguard its global interests

But while Beijing may be exploring this route in response to US-led efforts to counter its influence, the path to a network of outposts abroad is hardly straightforward

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Soldiers at Ream Naval Base in Cambodia. Photo: EPA

Published: 12:00pm, 22 Aug 2021Updated: 12:00pm, 22 Aug 2021

“Steel-like.” That was the expression China’s Ministry of National Defence spokesperson Wu Qian used last month, for the first time, to describe the friendship between Beijing and Phnom Penh, according to a report in nationalistic Chinese tabloid The Global Times.

To many observers, that reference to the relationship between China and Cambodia raised concerns that Beijing might have made further progress in setting up a permanent military presence at the Ream Naval Base in the Southeast Asian nation.

Though long denied by Phnom Penh, the rapid construction this year of two buildings at the base – just north of where United States-funded facilities were demolished last year – has raised concerns that China stands to benefit from the upgrades.

As it has only one overseas military base, in the African nation of Djibouti, analysts said China had a strategic interest in having more such outposts worldwide, not just to project military power but also to safeguard its global interests.

However, other experts argue that China may have turned to exploring foreign military bases given efforts by Western countries to counter Beijing, adding that its strategic goals have not kept pace with its growing economic might.

Ian Storey, a senior fellow with the Singapore-based ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, said given the rapid expansion of China’s global interests over the past decade, Beijing saw the need to establish a network of military access points around the world to protect and advance those interests.

“The ability to project power around the globe is a key consideration,” he said.