China Stages War Games at New Overseas Military Base
China has deployed its forces, including a landing ship to support amphibious warfare, to its new overseas base in Cambodia for a military exercise near the contested South China Sea.
China, which is expanding its military reach and presence globally, inaugurated its second publicly acknowledged overseas base last month. The joint logistics and training center, located at Ream Naval Base in southwestern Cambodia, is jointly maintained by both sides.
Cambodia has a coastline along the Gulf of Thailand, which connects to the South China Sea to the southeast. Beijing's sovereignty claims in the region—based on what it calls historic rights—cover most of the waters and overlap with those of neighboring countries.
The Chinese Defense Ministry announced that Exercise Golden Dragon 2025 is scheduled to take place in Cambodia from mid- to late May, featuring counter-terrorism operations, as well as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief activities on land, at sea, and in the air.
This marked the first bilateral exercise supported by the joint logistics and training center. Participating units from China arrived at Ream Naval Base on Monday, the Chinese military said, including the Type 071 amphibious landing platform dock vessel, CNS Changbaishan.
The Type 071 amphibious warship is capable of carrying 800 marines and around 20 amphibious vehicles, in addition to two helicopters, according to the specialist outlet Naval News.
Photos released by the Chinese military show that two smaller Chinese warships were also docked at a newly constructed pier at Ream Naval Base. Australia-based naval analyst Alex Luck identified them as Type 056A corvettes, which had been deployed there for some time.
In the Pentagon's report on Chinese military power, released before the opening of the joint China-Cambodia facility, a pair of Chinese corvettes were docked at Ream Naval Base in December 2023, indicating that China could maintain what it called a persistent role on site.
In the report, the Pentagon stated that China has adopted a global counter-terrorism strategy to prevent terrorist attacks against its citizens and economic interests abroad—such as the Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure program that expands China's influence.
Cambodia is a key investment destination under the Belt and Road Initiative, with Chinese funding used to develop the country's highways and ports, Japan-based Nikkei Asia reported.
Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for the Chinese Defense Ministry, said: "[Exercise Golden Dragon 2025] will facilitate practical cooperation between the two sides and contribute to the building of a China-Cambodia all-weather community with a shared future for the new era."
The Pentagon's Chinese military power report read: "The [People's Republic of China] is seeking to expand its overseas logistics and basing infrastructure to allow the [People's Liberation Army] to project and sustain military power at greater distances."
It remains to be seen whether China will expand the scope of joint exercises at the newly built facility in Cambodia and conduct patrols in the South China Sea from that location.
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