China’s building a naval base in Cambodia
And they’re hiding it from the world
But this is just the beginning
Welcome to China Uncensored. I’m Chris Chappell.
Stunning news, everyone.
China is building a secret naval base in Cambodia.
That’s according to anonymous Western officials. They also say that both China
and Cambodia are “taking extraordinary measures to conceal the operation.”
I’m shocked, shocked that the Chinese Communist Party
would build a secret military base and then lie about it.
Now if the Chinese Communist Party’s military, the People’s Liberation Army,
was really building a navy base in Cambodia—that would be a big deal.
Except China’s secret military base in Cambodia is a not-so-secret military base.
We did an episode about this back in 2019.
Now if the Chinese Communist Party’s military, the People’s Liberation Army,
was really building a navy base in Cambodia—that would be a big deal.
Deja vu.
Back in 2019, US officials said that China and Cambodia had secretly signed
a deal to allow the PLA to use part of a Cambodian navy base.
That’s the Ream Naval Base, which is here in the Gulf of Thailand.
It’s a pretty significant location. I’ll tell you why later in the episode.
The deal was for the Chinese military to get the exclusive use of the north side of the naval base.
Now back in 2019 both Cambodia and China denied that there was a secret deal.
And Cambodia’s prime minister Hun Sen called it fake news.
And he has a lot of experience in fake news. After all,
Hun Sen is a former member of the Khmer Rouge who has ruled Cambodia for 37 years.
I’m sure it’s because the Cambodian people just love him.
The Chinese regime has been supporting Hun Sen for years. Cambodia is part of China’s Belt and
Road Initiative, and Chinese companies have pumped billions of dollars into the country.
Of course some of that money might not have made it to the Cambodian people.
Hun and his family have been accused of a lot of corruption.
But I’m sure there’s a totally innocent explanation for
all of Hun Sen’s million dollar watches.
I’m shocked, shocked that the Chinese Communist Party would support
a corrupt authoritarian leader.
But all along, as China and Cambodia got more buddy buddy,
both sides continued to deny, deny, deny that China was getting any part of Ream Naval Base.
Despite analysts documenting signs of dredging using satellite imagery.
As well as a lot of fast, new construction since that totally nonexistent secret deal was signed.
But that’s not the only suspicious thing that’s happening at Ream.
I’ll tell you more after the break.
Welcome back.
For years, we’ve seen the evidence that the Chinese Communist Party is
building something at Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base.
But that’s not all. The Cambodian government also demolished two
different facilities at the same base that had been built by the US.
They did that after declining a US offer to pay to renovate one of them.
And it was around that time that they began refusing to let US officials visit the base.
I’m sure they had nothing at all to hide.
Total openness and transparency. It had nothing at
all to do with masking the presence of the Chinese military at the base.
Like for example making Chinese soldiers wear uniforms that looked like Cambodian uniforms,
or no uniforms at all.
I’m sure there’s an innocent explanation for this.
Like obviously the Chinese military had some kind of sudden uniform emergency and had to
borrow some uniforms from the Cambodians! Their uniforms were probably in the wash.
But it’s not just the US that Cambodia is trying to hide from.
Last year, they also relocated a Vietnamese building that was on the naval
base. Let’s just say China and Vietnam aren’t on the best of terms right now.
This whole thing is kind of hilarious. In a horrible way. I mean, Cambodia and China
are literally sneaking around but everyone knows about their illicit military relationship anyway.
But after years of hiding, it’s finally time to make it official.
This week, there’s going to be a groundbreaking ceremony at Ream. And Chinese officials
are going to be there. That’s not just according to anonymous Western officials.
Somehow the Washington Post got a Chinese official to confirm this as well.
The Chinese official also confirmed to the Washington Post
that part of the base will be used by the Chinese military.
I’m wondering whether that official is still employed
right now. Or is being interrogated by the MSS.
But the official did claim that it’s not exclusively going to be
used by the Chinese military. It’s also going to be used by Chinese scientists.
You know, that doesn’t make it less suspicious. Given what we know about
China’s civil-military fusion projects, that actually makes it more suspicious.
Because those scientists are clearly there to give cover to the actual military operations going on.
But why are China and Cambodia being so cagey about the Chinese military
using Cambodia’s naval base?
I’ll tell you after the break.
Welcome back.
So China and Cambodia are about to have a groundbreaking ceremony at Ream Naval Base.
This base is in a really strategic location. And the Chinese Communist
Party knows a lot of countries aren’t going to be very happy about this.
Like I said earlier, Ream is on the Gulf of Thailand.
Pretty close to Vietnam. And just outside the South China Sea.
Ream also means easy access to the Strait of Malacca.
That’s the most important shipping lane between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
And it’s a chokepoint that could be used to cut off the Indian Ocean from the South China Sea.
You know what’s at the mouth of the Strait of Malacca? Singapore.
Singapore is another authoritarian state that’s pretty friendly with China overall. But Singapore
has gotten a little nervous about China’s nationalist expansionism in the last few years.
Like when Singapore unexpectedly sanctioned Russia for invading Ukraine.
One of the reasons it did that was to stand up for small states, like itself.
And keep them from being used as sacrificial pawns.
Now Singapore said nothing about China here. But let’s just say,
it’s not Russia they’re worried about.
And once China establishes itself at Ream,
I wouldn’t be surprised to see them try to get some kind of military base in Myanmar.
That would allow the PLA Navy to keep expanding westward. While their military bases in the
South China Sea would allow their navy to keep going east into the Pacific.
You know, the military bases that Xi Jinping promised not to
build in the South China Sea and then did anyway.
So China’s use of Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base is pretty alarming by itself.
But it’s also a giant red warning sign about China’s expansion in the South Pacific.
Remember, that security deal that China signed with the Solomon Islands means
they’ll be able to build some kind of “dual use” facility in the Solomons.
Like maybe a place where Chinese scientists can work. Also the PLA Navy.
But of course the Chinese regime swears it
would never build a naval base in the Solomons. Totally fake news.
I’ve heard that one before.
And now it’s time for me to answer a question from a fan of the show who supports China
Uncensored on Patreon or Locals. XPat In Phils asks on Locals:
Hi Chris and company... I am in the Philippines, and the dynamic here is always changing,
especially now that there is a new president incoming. What are the thoughts in the China's
takeover of South Pacific Islands and how do you see it impacting the Philippines?
Well, expat, my thoughts are that the Chinese regime’s takeover of the South Pacific Islands
is a huge danger to the security of the region. And that includes the Philippines.
We could see a situation where the Philippines is pretty surrounded by Chinese influence,
from Papua New Guinea, up through the artificial islands in the South
China Sea. And the Philippines isn’t too far away from Taiwan, either.
If the Chinese Communist Party decides to go for Taiwan, that could destabilize the whole region.
Not exactly a reassuring message, which is why we need to deter the CCP while we still can.
Thanks for your question, XPat In Phils. And for supporting China Uncensored as we make
episodes like this. Visit our exclusive social media community at Chinauncensored.locals.com.
Join us, and you’ll have a chance to get your question answered on the show.
Once again, I’m Chris Chappell. Thanks for watching China Uncensored.