Cambodia is navigating a balancing act between major powers by allowing Japan to make naval visits at a China-linked base, according to observers who expect Phnom Penh to extend similar invitations to the United States.
Last Friday, Cambodia’s former prime minister and President of the Senate Hun Sen said Japan would be granted visitation rights to the Ream Naval Base, a facility the US is concerned could become a military outpost for China.
Just days earlier, an American warship docked at the southern port city of Cambodia’s Sihanoukville, just several kilometres away from Ream, in the first American military port call to one of Beijing’s closest regional allies in eight years.
USS Savannah commanding officer Daniel A. Sledz said the Americans were pleased to return and be hosted by Cambodia. The warship departed from Cambodia last Friday.
Sophal Ear, an associate professor at Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management, said the two developments suggested that Cambodia wanted to have a more balanced foreign policy and reduce its overdependence on China.
“Granting visitation rights to Japan, while still maintaining strong ties to Beijing, demonstrates a nuanced approach to balancing interests,” Ear said. Cambodia’s ability to navigate great power competition would depend on whether it could develop its overall capabilities and enhance cooperation with middle-power partners such as Japan and Australia.