Despite Cambodian officials having repeatedly denied that China will have a permanent base at Ream with exclusive access, the months-long presence of Chinese warships at Ream naval base and a major bilateral military exercise there in May have confirmed the opposite.

While the extent of this access remains unknown, it is clear that China's newest overseas military facility now appears to be up and running, confirming years of analysis on the suspicious Chinese presence in the Southeast Asian country. This presence has been justified by both countries’ military authorities as training for Cambodian sailors and testing of the new pier.

Everything started in 2019, when the Cambodian government unexpectedly declined US assistance to fix and expand the naval base, instead signing a secret agreement with China that promptly started rapid and extensive construction, including the demolition of a US-funded building.

In June 2022, during the official presentation ceremony of the Ream base’s “modernization”, the local authorities thanked the People’s Republic of China for the aid and support. The works conducted in Ream include a dry dock, an extended pier, and dredging allowing ships up to 5,000 tons displacement to use the port. The extended pier has been specifically occupied by 2 Chinese corvettes (potentially a rotational force) tied up alongside for ages, appearing to be the only ships almost exclusively using it.

Other works are now focused on building additional fuel tanks and wharves, as confirmed by Thomas Shugart, senior fellow of the Center for a New American Security. As declared by Shugart, a retired US Navy Captain, Ream is likely “a medium-size naval base with facilities to support training, maintenance, personnel support, and supply, able to facilitate missions like unit training, near- and far-seas patrols, and sea-control operations supporting the defense of China’s southern sea lines of communication (SLOCs).”

After the naval base in Djibouti, officially opened in 2017, the land base in Tajikistan, and the recent security agreement with the Solomon Islands, this is another bold move of Beijing to set the conditions for extending its influence and military capabilities to protect its vital SLOC.

The access to Ream sets the PLA-N (People's Liberation Army Navy) closer to the Strait of Malacca, a critical choke point for goods and ships between the Indian and Pacific oceans. In accordance with multiple Western studies that are monitoring its diplomatic and economic activities, Chinese authorities are working hard to expand the number of its overseas military bases. All these reports listed Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the UAE, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, Seychelles, Tanzania, Angola, Nigeria, Namibia, Mozambique, Bangladesh, and Papua New Guinea, as potential new spots.

According to available insights, Equatorial Guinea and UAE are the ‘most likely’ next 2 locations where the Chinese flag might be raised.