Satellite photos show rapid construction at military base where US has 'serious concerns' about China's presence

• In just a few weeks this spring, Cambodia appears to have built two buildings at its Ream naval base.
• The new buildings went up near the site of two US-built facilities that were suddenly demolished last year.
• The work has fed rumors of a looming Chinese military presence in an important part of Southeast Asia.

Two new buildings appear to have been built in a matter of weeks at Cambodia's Ream Naval Base, where that construction and demolition of US-funded buildings have raised concerns about a looming Chinese presence.

Satellite photos taken by Maxar and published by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative show land clearing beginning sometime after April 17, construction starting in early May, and the buildings finished by May 21.

The two buildings, both about 115 feet long and 20 feet wide, are located just north of the site of facilities built with US support that Cambodia's government demolished late last year.

Imagery previously published by AMTI, part of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, showed that one US-built building, the Tactical Headquarters of the National Committee for Maritime Security, was torn down in September.

Another US-built facility, the Rigid-Hulled Inflatable Boat maintenance facility and a nearby boat ramp, was torn down in October.

The ongoing demolition and construction has fed concerns about a secret deal purportedly signed by Cambodia and China in 2019 that would allow Beijing to station military personnel, store weapons, and dock warships at Ream for decades. The deal was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Cambodian officials, including Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has held power since 1985, have repeatedly denied such a deal exists.

In October, Vice Adm. Vann Bunlieng, deputy commander and chief of Cambodia's navy general staff, said a China-backed expansion at Ream was underway, with plans including dredging to deepen the waters around the base, which currently can only host smaller ships, such as patrol boats.

"The Chinese government helps us to build a port and repair facility for our ships," Bunlieng told Nikkei Asia, again denying reports that China's military would use the base.

Cambodian officials have said the tactical headquarters was being relocated in part so it can expand, but the island it is now on is "tiny," according to ATMI.

Cambodia's defense minister also said in October that the boat maintenance facility, which was completed in 2017, was moved to another location because "We can no longer keep it, and the building is already old."

"The breakneck pace of construction at Ream, lack of transparency, and shifting explanations from Cambodian officials continue to fuel suspicions that the upgrades there are intended for China's benefit as much as Cambodia's," ATMI said in its report.

'Serious concerns'

The new buildings were completed days before Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman arrived in Cambodia on the Biden administration's first high-level trip to the region.

In a statement about the visit, the State Department said Sherman "expressed serious concerns" about the Chinese "military presence and construction of facilities at Ream Naval Base."

Sherman "sought clarification on the demolition of two US-funded buildings at Ream without notification or explanation and observed that a [Chinese] military base in Cambodia would undermine its sovereignty, threaten regional security, and negatively impact US-Cambodia relations," the department said.

The US has previously inquired about China's presence at Ream. Hun Sen said in 2018 that then-Vice President Mike Pence had sent the Cambodian leader a letter "regarding concerns that there will be a China naval base in Cambodia."

Hun Sen rejected those concerns, citing a constitutional ban on foreign military presence. The US Defense Department raised the issue again in June 2019, after Cambodia suddenly declined US help to repair the facilities at Ream.

Pentagon spokesperson John Supple told Insider on Monday that the Defense Department was "certainly aware" of the ongoing work at Ream and reiterated the concerns Sherman conveyed to Cambodian officials.

"The United States has serious concerns about the People's Republic of China's military presence and construction of facilities at Ream Naval Base," Supple said. "We encourage Cambodia's leadership to maintain an independent and balanced foreign policy, in the best interests of the Cambodian people."

Cambodia is one of China's closest allies in Southeast Asia, and China has provided billions of dollars in aid as well as political backing for Hun Sen in the face of Western criticism over the Cambodian leader's authoritarian actions.

Chinese firms have also leased large plots of land around at Ream, including for a nearby airport that a Chinese company is building and for development of a tourist resort in a nearby coastal area, for which Chinese firms have been dredging and reclaiming land - work that could support future port infrastructure.

US officials have said an outpost in Cambodia would give China "a triangular perimeter" around Southeast Asia. A Chinese military presence at Ream could also give Beijing greater reach over important waterways connecting the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Other countries, including the US, have similar capabilities in that region, but greater Chinese reach in the area would concern neighboring countries, particularly India, which is wary of China's growing presence in the Indian Ocean.