Fears grow about Chinese military influence over Cambodia

[reader]

From Pattaya Mail

By Barry Kenyon

Cambodia’s neighbors, including Thailand, are concerned about the rapid rise of Chinese sea power and its possible use of the Ream naval base only a few hundred km south of the Thai naval port of Sattahip. The fear is that China is expanding its military footprint beyond the seizure of several disputed islands in the South China Sea which have already been fortified.

But neither Thailand nor Vietnam are saying much publicly to avoid disrupting vital trade relationships with China and, separately, because there’s nothing they can do anyway. Surveillance photos show that the Ream harbor has a new pier, a new dry dock, warehouses, living quarters and four basketball courts. Dredging is continuing though it’s unclear how deep it will go to admit the largest ships.

The official Cambodian position is that the dock is not yet finished. When it is, ships from other “friendly” nations (not just China) will be able to use the facilities. Cambodian deputy prime minister Sun Chanthol said the port was very small at 0.3 km and used only for training to prepare for the upcoming Golden Dragan exercises. Moreover, the Chinese presence in Ream is not permanent so does not count as a base. Mr Sun added that many US vessels are too big and might “get stuck”.

Others are not so sure. A foothold at Ream would give China better control over the South China Sea, 90 percent of which it claims to own in spite of an international court ruling against Beijing. The Seam port’s pier is almost identical to the 363 meter-long construction at the Chinese base in Djibouti in east Africa and long enough to accommodate a Chinese largest aircraft carrier.

But Greg Poling of the CSIS thinktank thinks that the small Ream base doesn’t get the Chinese navy any closer to regional hegemony. He points out that China currently has only two overseas bases whereas the US has hundreds, including a presence in both Thailand and the Philippines. However, Ream could be much more important as a signals and intelligence base for the Chinese military. Time alone will show the true significance of the developing construction on Cambodia’s southern tip.

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/news/fears-grow-about-chinese-military-influence-over-cambodia-475157

[vinapu]

Greed of Western corporations and consumers in the last 35 years vitally contributed to China's rapid rise and now we are surprised she is flexing her muscle

[reader]

10 minutes ago, vinapu said:

Greed of Western corporations and consumers in the last 35 years vitally contributed to China's rapid rise and now we are surprised she is flexing her muscle

China is now  intent on achieving what Japan sought to do nearly 90 years ago but in somewhat more subtle ways.

[Moses]

21 hours ago, reader said:

Cambodia’s neighbors, including Thailand, are concerned

21 hours ago, reader said:

But neither Thailand nor Vietnam are saying much

Barry bought himself a crystal ball and reads the minds of politicians?

The entire article is far-fetched and based on fiction: if no one is expressing concern, then where does the original premise of the article come from, that countries are concerned?

Empty, unsubstantiated statements from an elderly distributor of fakes? Barry is true to himself - he writes nonsense and does not provide a single piece of evidence.

[KeepItReal]

23 hours ago, reader said:

China is now  intent on achieving what Japan sought to do nearly 90 years ago but in somewhat more subtle ways.

I fear China is about to discover what Russia already has: the iPad generation has no interest in war and conquest. They can barely leave the couch. It is too late for subtle - make your move now or not at all.  😐

[reader]

From the BBC

Does China now have a permanent military base in Cambodia?

Two grey shapes, visible from satellites for most of this year at Cambodia’s Ream naval base, seem to confirm growing fears in Washington: that China is expanding its military footprint, beyond the three disputed islands in the South China Sea which it has already seized and fortified.

The shapes are type A56 corvettes of the Chinese navy - 1,500-tonne warships - and they have been berthed alongside a new, Chinese-built pier that is big enough to accommodate much larger vessels. Onshore there are other facilities, also built by China, which are presumed to be for the use of the Chinese navy.

The Cambodian government has repeatedly denied such a possibility, citing its constitution which bans any permanent foreign military presence, and stating that Ream is open to use by all friendly navies.

"Please understand this is a Cambodian, not a Chinese base," said Seun Sam, a Policy Analyst at the Royal Academy of Cambodia. "Cambodia is very small, and our military capacities are limited.

"We need more training from outside friends, especially from China."

Others, however, are watching with suspicion.

For all the talk about the rapid rise of Chinese sea power - the country now has more ships in its navy than the US - China currently has only one overseas military base, in the African state of Djibouti, which it built in 2016.

The United States, by contrast, has around 750 - one also in Djibouti, and many others in countries close to China like Japan and South Korea.

The US believes the imbalance is changing, however, because of China’s stated ambition to be a global military power. That, and the scale of its investments in overseas infrastructure through the Belt and Road Initiative, which under Chinese law must be built to military standards.

Some in Washington predict that China will eventually have a global network of bases, or civilian ports that it can use as bases. And one of the first of these is Ream.

Until a few years ago, Ream - which sits on Cambodia's southern tip - was being upgraded with US assistance; part of the tens of millions of dollars' worth of yearly military aid provided to Cambodia. But the US cut back this aid after 2017, when Cambodia's main opposition party was banned and its leaders exiled or jailed.

Most analysts believe a long-term Chinese presence at Ream would offer very few real advantages to China. They point to the three bases it has already built on Mischief, Fiery Cross and Subi Reefs in the South China Sea, and the formidable naval forces it maintains on its south coast.

But a Chinese base in Ream, at the mouth of the Gulf of Thailand, does worry Cambodia’s neighbours, Thailand and Vietnam. Together with other bases further north, it could be seen as an attempt by China to encircle the long Vietnamese coast.

Like the Philippines, Vietnam disputes China’s claim to almost all the islands in the South China Sea, and its forces have clashed with China’s in the past.

Thai national security officials have also privately expressed alarm at the thought of a Chinese base just south of the Thai navy’s main port in Sattahip, covering their exit from the Gulf of Thailand. Thailand and Cambodia still have unresolved territorial disputes, after all.

Continues with photos

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/does-china-now-have-a-permanent-military-base-in-cambodia/ar-AA1rQUNQ