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.

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by Cobus van Staden

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