Hun Manet and his father meet Xi

Observer: Chinese leader may raise Chinese military authority at Ream Port

Observers suggest that Chinese leaders may come to talk to Cambodian leaders about the terms of military cooperation between the two countries over the use of Ream Port.

By Prach Chev
01.04.2025

Hun Manet (left) and Hun Sen (right) meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on February 10 during a three-day visit to China from February 9 to 11, 2023. (Photo: Hun Sen’s Facebook)

This statement came after Chinese President Xi Jinping was announced to visit Cambodia in April.

Observer: Chinese leaders may raise Chinese military authority at Ream Port. Observers say the Chinese leaders will raise with the Cambodian leaders the terms of military cooperation between the two countries around the use of Ream Port.

Political commentator Kim Sok told Radio Free Asia on March 31 that top Chinese leader may come to talk to Prime Minister Hun Manet about the authority of the Chinese military to what extent can the seaport be used after the port is completed and ready to be inaugurated in the near future.

President Xi Jinping may speak at a closed diplomatic meeting about the terms of military cooperation between Cambodia and China in the Ream Seaport area after its construction. For example, how much authority does China have in Cambodian-Chinese military cooperation, and what conditions does China impose on Hun Manet’s government to allow warships from other countries to enter the Straits of Ream.
Mr. Kim Sok
The political commentator’s remarks came after reports that Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit three ASEAN countries: Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia in mid-April, and will be the first overseas visit by a Chinese leader in 2025.

The news of the Chinese leader’s visit to Cambodia comes as the Cambodian military announced that the Ream Naval Port, built with Chinese assistance, will be officially inaugurated in April.

Southeast Asia and the Pacific geopolitical observer Seng Vanly also said that although Xi Jinping’s visit to Cambodia does not seem to have much significance for China, but China just wants to show that Cambodia is still China’s close ally in the ASEAN region, and the Chinese leader wants to take the time to inaugurate the Ream naval base that China helped build.

A few weeks ago, Cambodia announced that it would allow the first Japanese warship to dock (after the inauguration of the Ream Naval Port) in an attempt to curry favor with Japan. But we see that Xi Jinping’s presence at the inauguration of the Ream Naval Port demonstrates China’s importance in its relations with Cambodia.

Mr. Seng Vanly
Observers believe that in addition to the Ream Port issue, Chinese leaders will try to infiltrate some of the aid programs that the United States has withdrawn from Cambodia and Cambodian leaders will also take the opportunity to request a loan from China to build the Funan Techo Canal project, which is suspected to be lacking funds for construction.