US concerned as Japanese warships dock in Cambodia

Two Japanese warships made a port call at Cambodia’s Chinese-renovated naval base Saturday, the Japanese embassy said, the first visit to the site that has raised concerns in Washington.

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The United States has said the Ream Naval Base, located off Cambodia’s southern coast, could give China a key strategic position in the Gulf of Thailand near the disputed South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety.

Cambodian senior officials have repeatedly denied that the base is for use by any single foreign power, following US media reports in 2022 saying the new facilities at Ream Base — originally built partly with US funds — would be exclusively for the Chinese navy.