Japanese Warships Dock at Cambodia’s Chinese-Renovated Naval Base

A Japanese warship docks at a naval base’s pier during a four-day visit at the Ream Naval Base in Sihanoukville, southwestern of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Saturday, April 19, 2025. Image via the Japanese embassy in Cambodia.

Two Japanese warships made a port call at Cambodia’s Chinese-renovated naval base on Saturday, the Japanese embassy said, the first vessels to dock at the site that has raised concerns in Washington.

The United States has stated that the Ream Naval Base, situated off Cambodia’s southern coast, could grant China a strategic foothold in the Gulf of Thailand, near the disputed South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely.

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