China is to trade two warships with Cambodia for access to a naval base near the contested South China Sea, Radio Free Asia reported on Tuesday, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.
As well as the naval vessels China is expected to hand over a deep-draft pier and facilities it has developed at the Ream naval base, which is situated on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand in the southwestern Cambodian province of Sihanoukville.
Two Chinese navy 1,440-ton Type 056A corvettes, specializing in submarine hunting and armed with naval guns, missiles and torpedoes, were docked at the pier, which is long enough to accommodate aircraft carriers, satellite imagery showed.
Sources claimed that the warships and base facilities are likely to be transferred to the Cambodian navy at the end of September. Newsweek has contacted the Chinese and Cambodian defense ministries for comment by email.
The Radio Free Asia report also said the Cambodian navy has been trained by its Chinese counterpart on how to operate the warships since December, when two vessels of the same class visited the base. In May, the Cambodian defense ministry said the country planned to acquire such warships.
Cambodia is China's major partner in Southeast Asia. Both sides agreed to enhance their military cooperation in areas such as capacity building, military training, logistics and equipment, according to a joint statement released in February 2023.
Phnom Penh has urged China, the Philippines and Vietnam to respect and adhere to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, which reaffirms peaceful settlement of disputes and freedom of navigation and overflight.
However, security analysts said Beijing and Phnom Penh might have reached a deal that gives the Chinese navy privileged access to the Ream naval base, where no foreign warships have been allowed to dock before.
The Wall Street Journal reported in 2019 that China had signed a secret agreement with Cambodia giving Beijing exclusive rights to use part of the base for 30 years. It allowed the Chinese military to station personnel, store weapons, and berth warships in the South China Sea outpost.
Cambodia's constitution does not permit the establishment of foreign military bases on Cambodian territory but reserves the right to receive foreign assistance in military equipment, armaments, ammunition, and training of its armed forces for self-defense and to maintain security.
China has established only one military outpost abroad to date. The base in the East African state of Djibouti, which is used to support anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden, was opened in 2017. It remains Beijing's only publicly acknowledged overseas military base to date.
In a report released in October last year, the United States Department of Defense said China is seeking to build a more robust overseas logistics and basing infrastructure to project and sustain military power at greater distances and to secure the country's lines of communication.
The report included a long list of countries that China has likely considered in terms of establishing military logistics facilities, including Burma, Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Nigeria, Namibia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Tajikistan.
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