US Warship Docks at China-Built Cambodian Base for First Time

A US Navy warship has docked for the first time at a naval base built with Chinese money, marking a potential turning point in America's relationship with Cambodia after two decades of growing alienation.

The USS Cincinnati, an Independence-variant littoral combat ship, arrived at Cambodia's Ream Naval Base on January 24 for a five-day port visit. But this wasn't just a routine friendship call—Ream has been the subject of intense Western suspicions about Chinese military intentions in Southeast Asia.

The Chinese Shadow Over Ream

Since 2022, China has funded a controversial expansion of Ream that reads like a military wish list: a 300-meter deep-water pier, a 5,000-ton dry dock, a 1,000-ton slipway, and a Cambodia-China Joint Logistics and Training Center. Prime Minister Hun Manet personally opened the upgraded facilities in April last year.

The concern stems from a 2019Wall Street Journal report claiming that then-Prime Minister Hun Sen had signed a secret agreement granting China's military 30-year access rights to the base. Cambodia has consistently denied this, citing constitutional prohibitions on foreign military bases, but suspicions have lingered.

The invitation to the US Navy—following port visits by Japanese and Vietnamese vessels last year—appears designed to address these concerns. Admiral Samuel Paparo, Commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, who accompanied the Cincinnati, thanked Cambodia for demonstrating that "Ream would be a sovereign port."

"This visit is an expression of our confidence in Cambodia's sovereignty and a good-faith expression of our partnership moving forward," Paparo said during a pier-side briefing.

Trump 2.0 and Pragmatic Diplomacy

The timing coincides with the second Trump administration's more pragmatic approach to Cambodia relations. The decision to shutter USAID and cut funding for democracy promotion efforts and outlets like Radio Free Asia has removed key irritants in the bilateral relationship.

During meetings in Phnom Penh, Prime Minister Hun Manet expressed Cambodia's intention to join President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" to "demonstrate Cambodia's commitment to supporting global peacekeeping." The two countries also agreed to restart the Angkor Sentinel military exercise, unilaterally canceled by Cambodia in 2017 just as it began similar drills with China's People's Liberation Army.

Paparo announced that planning for the renewed exercise would begin in February or March, with the drill scheduled for "the latter part of 2026 or early 2027." A possible visit by US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is also under discussion.

A Curious Paradox

Yet this diplomatic warming comes amid a curious contradiction. The US Treasury Department recently imposed sweeping sanctions on Cambodia's Prince Holding Group, alleging its online scamming operations cost American citizens at least $10 billion in 2024. The group had privileged access to Cambodia's leadership, including former Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Analysts attribute this paradox to what they describe as the "fragmented and chaotic nature of foreign policy-making" under the second Trump administration, combined with the president's susceptibility to well-aimed flattery from Phnom Penh—particularly after Trump helped broker a peace accord in Cambodia's border conflict with Thailand.

The Small State Balancing Act

Cambodia's approach reflects a classic small-state strategy in an era of great power competition. Accept Chinese infrastructure investment while welcoming American, Japanese, and Vietnamese naval visits. Maintain constitutional prohibitions on foreign bases while building facilities that could theoretically serve foreign militaries.

For Washington, the Cincinnati's visit represents a test of Cambodia's assurances about Ream's sovereignty. For Beijing, it demonstrates the limits of infrastructure diplomacy in securing exclusive access. For Phnom Penh, it's an attempt to maximize benefits from both superpowers while minimizing risks.