The New Navy Base China is Building in Cambodia Looks a Lot Like China’s Older Navy Base in Djibouti

From left, a satellite image shows a naval base in Djibouti with Chinese military presence, and a near-replica pier in Cambodia's Ream Naval Base that China uses. (Courtesy of BlackSky)

Two People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) warships have been docked for the past five months at the new Ream Naval Base that China built in Cambodia. The presence of those two corvettes puts to rest the oft-stated denials by both Cambodian and Chinese officials that this new facility will act as China’s first overseas base in Asia.

Now that the new Ream Naval Base is nearly complete, U.S. defense analysts were curious to compare the architecture of the base in Cambodia with the existing PLAN facility in Djibouti.

  • Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis.
  • Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations.
  • Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South.

China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening.

Subscribe today for unlimited access.

OR

Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More
by Cobus van Staden

Most Read

1
Developing Countries’ Debt Servicing Costs to China Are Significant, but Nowhere Near as Much as Other Creditors
2 Chinese Military Fans Discuss Why Indonesia Bought Rafale Instead of J-10C
3
Chinese Cargo Planes Secretly Ferrying Supplies to Iran, Claim Online Sleuths
4
Indonesia Goes Nuclear, Taps China and Russia for Modular Reactors
5
Thailand in Last-Minute U.S. Talks as 36% Tariff Looms
6 Trump’s Contradictory Iran Strategy Leaves U.S. Weaker After War’s End, Says Chinese Commentator

You Might Like

Chinese Building of Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base Speeds Up

The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), a U.S. think tank affiliated with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, published satellite images appearing to show rapid progress in the Chinese-constructed Ream naval base in Cambodia, ...

New Satellite Images Reveal Cambodia’s New Chinese-Built Navy Base Will be Large Enough to Dock Aircraft Carriers

It now appears that the new Cambodian navy base that China is building in Ream will be large enough to accommodate an aircraft carrier even though the Cambodian navy doesn’t have vessels anywhere ...

New Cambodian Canal Project Won’t Faciliate Chinese Military Access, Says Ex Premier

Hun Sen, Cambodia’s former premier and father of the current prime minister, took to the social media platform X this week to vent his frustrations over allegations that the Chinese military will use ...

U.S. Worried (Again) About New Chinese Military Base… This Time in Cambodia

Ream Naval Base, a naval facility in Cambodia on the Gulf of Thailand currently being expanded by Chinese contractors, will accommodate Chinese military vessels, according to reports in The Washington Post and other publications.  ...

What is The China-Global South Project?

Independent

The China-Global South Project is passionately independent, non-partisan and does not advocate for any country, company or culture.

News

A carefully curated selection of the day’s most important China-Global South stories. Updated 24 hours a day by human editors. No bots, no algorithms.

Analysis

Diverse, often unconventional insights from scholars, analysts, journalists and a variety of stakeholders in the China-Global South discourse.

Networking

A unique professional network of China-Africa scholars, analysts, journalists and other practioners from around the world.

More about CGSP