China secretly building PLA naval facility in Cambodia, Western officials say

[former9thward]

China is secretly building a naval facility in Cambodia for the exclusive use of its military, with both countries denying that is the case and taking extraordinary measures to conceal the operation, Western officials said.

The military presence will be on the northern portion of Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base on the Gulf of Thailand, which is slated to be the site of a groundbreaking ceremony this week, according to the officials, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.

The establishment of a Chinese naval base in Cambodia — only its second such overseas outpost and its first in the strategically significant Indo-Pacific region — is part of Beijing’s strategy to build a network of military facilities around the world in support of its aspirations to become a true global power, the officials said.

China’s only other foreign military base right now is a naval facility in the East African country of Djibouti. Having a facility capable of hosting large naval vessels to the west of the South China Sea would be an important element of China’s ambition to expand its influence in the region and would strengthen its presence near key Southeast Asian sea lanes, officials and analysts said.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/06/06/cambodia-china-navy-base-ream/

[Alexander Of Assyria]

1. USA is now only ahead 102 to 2 in foreign naval bases! Omg what will America do!!??

[Tanuki]

2. I am more concerned about the Cambodians themselves. The Chinese

have put hydroelectric dams upstream on the Mekong and it is devastating the environment in Cambodia. The average person there already has almost no leverage against this, and an active Chinese military presence there is going to crush any resistance even further.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/08/11/left-fish-too-small-sell-cambodias-mekong-river-basin

"Left With Fish Too Small to Sell in Cambodia’s Mekong River Basin
How a China-Built Dam Destroyed an Ecosystem and Livelihoods

Thousands have lost their homes and livelihoods since the completion of one of Asia’s widest dams, the Lower Sesan 2, in Cambodia’s Mekong River Basin. Built as part of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the dam, which spans well over six kilometers, has cut off vital migration routes for native fish species, and displaced numerous Indigenous and ethnic minority communities. Warnings that it would leave fishing communities worse off were ignored. Some of those who refused to resettle were threatened. Birgit Schwarz speaks with Human Rights Watch’s Asia Advocacy Director John Sifton about the devastating effect the dam has had on people’s lives, the Cambodian government’s motives for building it, and the need for Beijing to better protect the rights of those affected by its massive BRI infrastructure projects."...(more)

[Alexander Of Assyria]

3. ....a massive history of displacement by dam building for energy and irrigation in America.

Chinese foreign investment in infrastructure is not how colonial American or the West did it or would want it, but it’s better for the countries not colonized.

[roamer65]

4. This is going to piss off Vietnam.

Big time.