“The first phase of the Ream base is expected to be inaugurated on 2.4,” Major General Thong Solimo, a spokesman for the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF), told AFP.
Two Chinese military ships at Cambodia’s Ream Navy base on December 16
Mr. Thong Solimo added that after the ribbon cutting ceremony, Cambodia will “allow a mift military ship to dock at the previous Ream base” and ships from other countries will also be allowed to dock this port.
According to the AFP news agency, the REAM naval base was originally built with a part of the US budget. Since 2022, China has funded the renovation of the Ream Navy base.
Chinese warships docked for the first time in 363 m long in December 2023. By December 2024, a US warship arrived at Ream port during the first US Cambodian military port visit after 8 years.
US warships returned to Ream base in Cambodia after 8 years
A senior US military commander visited Cambodia in February and met Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet to “expand bilateral defense relations”. Meanwhile, Cambodia is about to receive two warships from China to improve its defense capacity.
Washington said that the Ream Navy base, located off the southern coast of Cambodia, could bring Beijing an important strategic position in the Gulf of Thailand, near the East Sea.
The Cambodian leadership has repeatedly emphasized that the Ream Navy base will not be for any foreign power to use.
