ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Cambodia has completed expansion of its main naval base, largely financed by China. That's got some in the U.S. and around the region worried that China may be granted special access to the base on the Gulf of Thailand, not far from the South China Sea. Michael Sullivan reports.
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MICHAEL SULLIVAN, BYLINE: There were trumpets and marching bands to mark the completion of the base expansion, which critics see as another example of China's aggressive efforts to exert its influence in the region - most notably the heavily militarized islands it's built from scratch in the South China Sea and its claims - rejected by an international tribunal - of sovereignty over almost all of it. A new pier has been built at the Cambodian base to accommodate larger ships, and there's a new dry dock for repairs, as well. But Cambodia's prime minister, Hun Manet, insisted at the weekend ceremony that the new port is open to all and favors no one.
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PRIME MINISTER HUN MANET: (Through interpreter) I would like to take this opportunity to make it clear that the Cambodian government has no intention of violating its constitution by allowing any country's troops to establish exclusive bases on Cambodian territory.
SULLIVAN: Maybe not. But in a statement issued in Beijing, China's defense minister said the two countries' joint training center will support a broad range of operations - a message echoed by Cao Qingfeng, a visiting senior member of China's Central Military Commission, who spoke at the ceremony over the weekend.
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CAO QINGFENG: (Non-English language spoken).
SULLIVAN: "This marks a new starting point for promotion of relations between our two militaries," he said, "adding new impetus for regional security and development."
The base first drew international attention in 2019, after a Wall Street Journal report that an agreement seen by U.S. officials would allow China a 30-year lease of the base to berth ships, personnel and store weapons. Both countries have consistently denied this. But China is Cambodia's closest ally and benefactor in Southeast Asia, and work on the project began in earnest in 2022. Satellite images of two small Chinese warships berthed at the port for months at a time since have only heightened concerns about China's intentions. But some analysts, such as La Trobe Asia research fellow Hunter Marston, say Western concerns about Ream may be overblown - the water surrounding it too shallow to accommodate large naval vessels.
HUNTER MARSTON: It's but one staging opportunity for China to refuel, repair, etc., and expand its routes and access along the Gulf of Thailand. But at the same time, the significance of this base should not be overblown.
SULLIVAN: Of more interest to Marston and others is the giant Dara Sakor International Airport being built in a remote area near the Ream naval base by a China-based group - an airport that could be used as a staging ground for Chinese warplanes in any future confrontation in the South China Sea.
MARSTON: The Chinese companies behind that project were the same construction companies that militarized the islands in the South China Sea that China reclaimed. So a bit troubling there, but also the size of the runways, you know, are significant. You know, the military dual-use capabilities will remain in question.
SULLIVAN: China's president, Xi Jinping, is scheduled to visit Cambodia later this month. For NPR News, I'm Michael Sullivan in Chiang Rai.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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