Cambodia says China gifting 2 warships as it finishes work expanding strategically important port

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - Cambodia’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday that China is giving its navy two warships of the type it has had docked for months at a strategically important base being expanded with Beijing’s funding, which has raised concerns of China establishing a permanent naval presence on the Gulf of Thailand.

Ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata told The Associated Press that China would give Cambodia two newly built Type 56 corvettes, smaller vessels typically used for coastal patrols, next year at the earliest.

She would not comment on reports that China also planned to hand over to Cambodia newly expanded facilities at Ream Naval Base, including a lengthy new pier capable of accommodating much larger naval vessels than Cambodia has in its own fleet. Maly did say the final phase of construction would soon be completed.

The United States and others have expressed concerns about China’s navy establishing a base at Ream, which would give it easy access to the Malacca Strait, a critical shipping route between the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Those concerns grew after two Type 56 corvettes docked at the newly built pier in December, and have maintained a presence there on-and-off ever since.

Cambodia has said one of the reasons the Chinese corvettes have been there for so long was that it was considering similar warships for its own navy, and for training.

Maly said the two corvettes being given to Cambodia, the Type 56C variant, came after Cambodia requested China’s support.

"It is in the aim of strengthening the capacity and ability of Cambodia to protect and maintain peace, stability, security as well as for supporting search and rescue operations and other humanitarian activities," she said.

China's Foreign Affairs Ministry would not comment on the ships or the report that Beijing would turn over the newly expanded Ream base facilities to Cambodia, telling the AP in a faxed reply to a query that "we're not aware of the relevant information."

Controversy over the Chinese activity at the Ream base initially arose in 2019 when The Wall Street Journal reported that an early draft of a reputed agreement seen by U.S. officials would allow China 30-year use of the base, where it would be able to post military personnel, store weapons and berth warships.

Cambodia's then-Prime Minister Hun Sen denied there was such an agreement, emphasizing that Cambodia's Constitution did not allow foreign military bases to be established on its soil.

Chinese work on the base has continued and Hun Sen’s successor as prime minister, his son Hun Manet, has insisted the same thing.

If China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy, or PLAN, were to be granted preferred, or exclusive, access to Ream in exchange for the warships it is giving Cambodia and for its work on the base, it could be a deft way to work around the constitutional issues, said Euan Graham, a senior defense analyst with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

"It's quite a smart move, as it allows Cambodia to maintain its line that it hasn't deviated from the constitution by creating a foreign base. And China has no shortage of warships to donate," he said.

"I expect that China may retain a naval complement on board the corvettes, post-transfer. The real question is what level of access the PLAN will have to Ream, and whether that access is exclusive," Graham added.

China currently only operates one acknowledged foreign military base, in the impoverished but strategically important Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti, but many believe that its military is busy establishing an overseas network.

The U.S. has more foreign military bases than any other country, including multiple facilities in the Asia-Pacific region.

Thus far, only Chinese naval vessels have been given permission to use the new pier. In February, two Japanese destroyers were routed instead to the nearby Sihanoukville commercial port. A Royal Australian Navy frigate was also directed to Sihanoukville for a port call ending Wednesday.

Maly said Cambodia had the right to promote cooperation with all partners for its benefit, so long as constitutional regulations were followed.

"Cooperation has to comply with the goals and the principles of the Cambodian Constitution especially the protection of its sovereignty, integrity and independence," Maly said.

Cambodia is China's closest ally in Southeast Asia, while China is Cambodia's most important ally and benefactor, with a strong influence on its economy.

Beyond military projects, China funds numerous others in Cambodia - particularly infrastructure, including airports and roads, but also private projects such as hotels, casinos and property development. Some 40% of Cambodia's $11 billion in foreign debt is owed to China.

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Rising reported from Bangkok.