By Guo Yuandan

The US littoral combat ship USS Savannah(LCS-28) docked at the port of Sihanoukville in Cambodia on Monday. According to AFP, the US warship docked at a dock kilometers away from a Chinese-renovated naval base, marking the first American military port call to one of Beijing's closest regional allies in eight years. Some Western media have seized the opportunity to link the PLA with the Ream Naval Base in Cambodia. Relevant experts have stated that military exchanges and cooperation between China and Cambodia are normal and will not be influenced by external interference.

The US Navy Times reported that according to Cambodia's Ministry of National Defense, the littoral combat ship Savannah, with a crew of 103, will dock at the port of Sihanoukville from December 16 to 20. The ship commander will meet with the commander of the Ream Naval Base in Cambodia. According to the Cambodian Ministry of Defense, a total of 27 US Navy ships have visited Cambodia since 2007. However, the USS Savannah is the first US warship to dock in Cambodia in eight years. The report also mentioned that the visit was scheduled after a US request for a port call and would "strengthen and expand the bonds of friendship as well as promote bilateral cooperation" between the two nations.

According to the report, the US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Cambodia this June to seek to improve relations between the two countries through military exchanges, including cooperation in areas such as demining and unexploded ordnance clearance. The US Embassy in Cambodia stated on social media on December 16 that the US warship was making a friendly visit to strengthen US-Cambodia coordination in addressing shared maritime security challenges.

When asked to comment on the American military port call to Cambodia, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian said on Monday, "China believes that security and defense exchange and cooperation between countries should be conducive to regional peace and stability, not otherwise."

China has never opposed normal communication and exchanges between the US and Cambodia's armed forces. China supports all actions that contribute to regional peace and stability, said Chinese military expert Zhang Junshe. It is hoped that the growing exchanges between the US and regional countries are not driven by Cold War mentality or seeking to find pawns to implement the Indo-Pacific Strategy aimed at countering competitors. Such actions will undermine regional stability, hinder the development and prosperity of the region, and are not welcomed by regional countries, including Cambodia, he said.

On the arrival of the US littoral combat ship USS Savannah at the port of Sihanoukville, the issue of "China's activities at the Ream Naval Base" has once again been raised. The US has always been concerned that the Ream Naval Base may provide China with a strategic foothold in the Gulf of Thailand.

The Ream Naval Base is located on the southeastern coastline of Cambodia. In 2019, the US proposed funding to assist Cambodia in repairing the training facilities and ships at the Ream Naval Base, yet Cambodia rejected the plan. In June 2022, the upgrade of the Ream Naval Base in Cambodia assisted by China officially started. Since then, Western media, particularly from the US and other Western countries, have repeatedly stirred up claims that China is secretly building a naval base in Cambodia specifically for the use of the PLA. However, these rumors have been refuted many times by Cambodia.

On October 1 this year, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol said in a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington that the Ream Naval Base was not for the Chinese. The Chinese only provide assistance to expand the base for Cambodia's national defense, not to be used by the Chinese or any military against another country. He also welcomed the visit of the US military to the port.

Chinese military expert Zhang Junshe held that the continuous hype surrounding the upgrade and renovation project of the Cambodian Ream Naval Base, as well as the baseless rumors of the PLA establishing a naval base in Cambodia, have become a common tactic used by Western countries. The purpose of such actions is, on one hand, to spread rumors, smear the normal cooperation between China and Cambodia, and undermine China's relations with its neighboring countries, and on the other hand, to amplify and fabricate the so-called "China threat theory."

Zhang Junshe said, it can be seen from the report that the commander of the US littoral combat ship USS Savannah will hold a working meeting with officials from the Ream Naval Base. Generally speaking, visiting naval commanders will tour local military facilities, and the US Navy personnel will have the opportunity to directly experience and verify that the cooperation between China and Cambodia is normal. The Ream Naval Base is not a base for the Chinese Navy and the rumors they have spread will naturally be debunked.

Editor's note: Originally published on military.cnr.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.