Despite possessing the largest fleet of warships in the world, the Chinese navy still has a fatal weakness, which is the lack of overseas military bases.
With more than 350 ships, China currently possesses the largest naval fleet in the world. Compared to this number, the US only owns 296 ships and submarines.
However, so far China has only owned a single extraterritorial naval base in Djibouti, East Africa.
“Despite having an impressive force, without the rich infrastructure networks in the extraterritorial regions, the ability to utilize this force will be greatly reduced in proportion to the geographical distance from the country. China,” said Andrew Erickson, research director of the China Maritime Studies Institute at the Naval War College.
According to information published by international media recently, it seems that China has funded Cambodia to build a naval base in this country.
The base will be built in the southern part of Ream Naval Base, with a ground-breaking ceremony scheduled for next week.
In 2019, The Wall Street Journal revealed a secret agreement between China and Cambodia to allow Chinese forces to use the base and weapons reserves here. However, the Cambodian side has denied this information.
Question marks about China’s involvement at the Ream Naval Base surfaced again last year when satellite images emerged that showed two buildings being rapidly built on the grounds of the facilities.
However, The Post reported that a Chinese government official in Beijing has confirmed “at least part of the base” will be used by China, although he stressed that the base will not be used. fully used, as well as with the participation of scientists.
The Ream Naval Base is also not the only place China is increasing its influence. At the end of last year, The Journal also reported that Beijing had reached a secret agreement with the United Arab Emirates to build a military port near Abu Dhabi.