Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base: New Chinese language Trojan Horse?

By: Andy Wong Ming Jun

China’s newest foray into increase its presence within the South China Sea, a dual-use enlargement of Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base, a part of its “String of Pearls” technique to ascertain itself as a blue-water maritime energy able to difficult the US, is including to considerations about Beijing’s increasing naval aggressiveness. Earlier examples embrace the ports of Gwadar in Pakistan and Hambantota in Sri Lanka, each on the Indian Ocean that are both largely funded by, and/or managed by Chinese language state-owned firms.

On the bottom, Cambodian locals have remarked on the growing Chinese language presence across the base as development has intensified over the previous yr. Vietnamese officers have additionally described a sudden improve in Chinese language motion of personnel and tools into Ream since April, reflecting the total rising affect of China in Cambodia as nicely. That has not solely raised the eyebrows of the US but additionally of Cambodia’s neighbors comparable to Thailand and Vietnam. For Thailand, a possible Chinese language presence at Ream might enable for Chinese language coercive energy projection immediately at its entrance door. Extra considerably for Vietnam, a Chinese language navy presence at Ream in future might probably threaten the nation’s defensive positioning from the south in a pincer motion with Chinese language naval and air energy from the north originating out of Hainan Island.

Different navy and civil infrastructure development throughout the South China Sea has rung extra alarm bells among the many littoral nations, with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier this month publicly calling on Malaysia and Vietnam to debate a separate code of conduct concerning the South China Sea and citing China’s “aggressive” habits and escalating tensions that require the Philippines to accomplice with allies and neighbors to keep up peace. The scenario, Marcos stated throughout a convention in Hawaii, is now “extra dire.”

Whereas up to now competing claims among the many littoral nations have impeded makes an attempt at cooperation, that could be altering as China provides to the variety of islets within the South China Sea that it’s reclaiming. Beijing in October raised extra considerations by publishing a “10-dash line” map that claims much more territory than its 1947 “nine-dash line,” extending not solely additional into the South China Sea but additionally waters across the Indian area of Arunachal Pradesh.

“In latest months, Chinese language incursions have elevated each in scope and frequency; many such incidents are performed down in order to not add to rigidity with China,” stated a former senior regional diplomat who requested to stay unnamed. “In consequence, Malaysia is exploring all kinds of different preparations with each its neighbors and with the US, Japan, Australia, and so forth. Through the latest Japanese go to, a lot time was spent discussing the risk posed by China. There’s additionally a way that ASEAN is probably not the most effective automobile to debate China’s maritime claims provided that Cambodia and Laos have change into proxies for China. Apart from, neither of those nations have pores and skin within the sport. It might be time for all nations within the area who face a standard problem from China to band collectively a minimum of in a free and casual grouping.”

China’s involvement in increase Ream makes it Beijing’s second abroad navy base, the primary being established at Djibouti on the Horn of Africa in 2017. Satellite tv for pc imagery over the previous 18 months has found that Ream has seen the addition of not solely a pier lengthy sufficient to dock an plane provider, however can be nicely alongside in setting up a big drydock on reclaimed land on the southern portion of the bottom. Additional open-source satellite tv for pc imagery evaluation by Tom Shugart, a senior protection analyst on the Middle for a New American Safety, signifies that vital area-clearing and roadworks have been performed throughout the space reserved for unique Chinese language navy use to permit for the deployment of radar-guided long-range antiaircraft missile techniques equally seen in air protection nets over China’s personal naval bases comparable to Yalong in Hainan Island.

China’s maritime insecurity has lengthy been widespread information and is a key motivation for the nation’s navy buildup over the previous 20 years. With a largely export-driven economic system and heavy reliance on imported power from the Center East by its sea strains of communications snaking by the Indian and South China Sea, China has urgent safety must safeguard and mission naval energy on the excessive seas. To be able to make up for its lack of a real blue-water naval functionality which requires sustained deployment of naval forces far-off from the Chinese language mainland, China has been steadily imprinting its affect on a rising variety of port amenities all over the world which may theoretically enable it to ship its naval ships to be successfully forward-deployed with out the necessity for a logistical leash constraining it to working out of mainland Chinese language ports.

There are conflicting views concerning the true significance of China’s involvement with Ream Naval Base. Some imagine Ream is of restricted strategic worth owing to its geographical place on the Cambodian shoreline, successfully rendering it a maritime cul-de-sac within the Gulf of Thailand, which makes it of restricted added worth to China’s naval energy projection when it already has a number of naval bases on Hainan Island not too far-off which take pleasure in direct entry to the South China Sea the place the PLA Navy has a number of territorial disputes with different neighboring nations within the area.

Moreover, whereas it’s true that the brand new berthing pier constructed at Ream is of a form solely seen in China’s different abroad base at Djibouti and is lengthy sufficient to theoretically dock any of China’s plane carriers or naval resupply vessels, the shortage of considerable, fashionable mooring and shore amenities together with the shallow waters round Ream would make the practicality of such a deployment questionable at greatest. Some specialists have additionally identified Ream’s proximity to Singapore’s Changi Naval Base, from which the US Navy has each naval operational in addition to logistical presence that may simply choke off any Chinese language naval vessel in Ream ought to hostilities get away.

On the a part of the Chinese language and Cambodians, each events have strenuously denied that Ream Naval Base is to be a secret Chinese language abroad navy base by harkening again to the Cambodian structure which forbids overseas navy bases to be constructed on Cambodian soil.

Nonetheless, the most recent developments surrounding Ream appear to trace at circumstances quickly altering to permit for the naval base to change into more and more possible as a de-facto Chinese language abroad naval base. First, the most recent satellite tv for pc imagery exhibits the development of a giant drydock in extra of any naval vessel presently being operated by the Cambodian Navy, calling into query the precise beneficiary of such a facility’s utility. Second, the close by Dara Sakor Worldwide Airport, presently claimed to be nonetheless below development and funded by China, has an unusually lengthy runway at greater than 3,000 meters for its distant and sparsely populated area, one thing which US navy analysts have suspected as being conveniently dual-purpose to deal with Chinese language navy plane.

Lastly, in April the Cambodian authorities all of the sudden introduced plans to develop new air protection and naval radar installations close to the naval base inside Ream Nationwide Park. In September, the federal government additionally conveniently accepted supply of its first Chinese language-made KS-1C medium and long-range air protection system. Whereas the brand new proposed air protection set up by Cambodia is but to really materialize, the most recent satellite tv for pc imagery displaying space clearings and roadworks throughout the Chinese language half of the naval base just like air protection installations on different Chinese language abroad bases within the South China Sea area hints on the risk that the PLA Air Pressure will be capable to deploy its personal air protection belongings by Cambodian proxy, if not accomplish that outright at any time.

Andy Wong Ming Jun is a specialist in naval technique with a Grasp’s Diploma in Worldwide Safety from the College of Bathtub.