Two Chinese warships stationed at Cambodia’s Ream naval base have been away from port for days in a row, most likely to conduct training patrols with the Cambodian navy, according to a military expert.
Satellite data from the Earth imaging company Planet Labs and analyzed by Radio Free Asia show that the two Chinese Type 056 missile corvettes, believed to be Aba (hull number 630) and Tianmen (hull number 631), were away from the new China-developed pier at Ream for four days between Dec. 18-21.
Before that, they were also absent for four days between Nov. 25-28, and Sept. 26-29.
Corvettes are small warships with displacement under 2,000 tons and often used for patrol.
“They typically do four to five day operations, but usually four, most surface surveillance and anti-submarine warfare sweeps,” said Carl Schuster, a retired U.S. Navy captain and former director of operations at the U.S. Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center.
The Chinese ships’ absence from port “makes perfect sense,” according to Schuster, as the Cambodian military confirmed that Beijing would transfer two corvettes to Cambodia and train its personnel on how to operate them.
The Chinese navy has been training Cambodian naval personnel since December last year, when two vessels of the same class arrived in Ream for the first time, but the drills were carried out mostly at port before this current phase.
“Typical training activities with the Cambodians would be basic tactical maneuvering drills, weapons skills, signal drills and underway replenishment or material transfer drills,” said Schuster.
“These primarily are basic seamanship, technical proficiency, and naval formation, maneuvering and response drills, which also benefit the corvette crews training,” he added.
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On Dec. 20, when the Chinese ships were in the open sea, Cambodian and Vietnamese navies conducted a joint patrol along their “historical maritime border” but it is unclear whether the corvettes had any role in the exercise.
Sources told RFA that China was expected soon to hand over new facilities at the base, together with the pier and two warships, but the plan seems to be encountering delays, which are not unexpected in large military infrastructure projects.
Japanese access
Once the construction is completed, Cambodia will grant Japan access, veteran Cambodian leader Hun Sen told visiting Japanese national security chief Takeo Akiba in Phnom Penh last week.
Hun Sen said in a Facebook post that Japanese ships would be the first to be invited to the Ream naval base, which has been off-limits to foreign vessels, apart from the Chinese ones.
The U.S. Navy’s USS Savannah was in Cambodia last week on a ties-mending trip but had to dock at the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port, 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) away, due to “ongoing construction and safety concerns” at Ream – the usual explanation provided by Cambodia.
A senior U.S. defense official told RFA that there are concerns “about the precedent of China establishing bases overseas” with Ream, even if the base is unlikely to boost China’s capabilities in the disputed South China Sea greatly.
The U.S. has long been concerned with the lack of transparency in the China-funded project.
Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Adm. Samuel Paparo, during his brief visit to Cambodia on Dec. 18, reaffirmed U.S. respect for Cambodia’s sovereignty, including in its fostering of a relationship with China.
“We are taking a wait and see attitude towards the PRC’s relationship at the Ream naval base,” Paparo told a press briefing, referring to China by its official name, the People’s Republic of China.
“We’re not here to counter any other actor,” Paparo added.
Edited by Mike Firn.