This content was originally published by Radio Free Asia, and it is now being reprinted with permission.
According to Thai resources with knowledge of the situation, China is expected to quickly palm over two warships, a deep-draft pier long enough for the needs of aircraft carriers, and facilities it has developed at a foundation on Cambodia’s beach.
About 100 Foreign naval officers are “working day and night” at a part of the Gulf of Thailand’s Ream naval base to prepare for the move to Vietnamese power, which is likely to occur at the end of September, according to the resources.
The sources added that Vietnamese workers could not access the base’s area, but that area will soon be given over to China because of the funding and development there.
According to analysts, the two nations may have reached a deal that will give the Chinese military privileged access to the new bottom, where foreign vessels have traditionally been barred from docking.  ,
Two People’s Liberation Army Navy, or PLAN, ships can be seen berthed at the new wharf, next to an area being developed, an RFA writer saw on a recent visit to the place.
Building cranes and trucks are apparent when are new-looking buildings.
The two vessels, which RFA identified as PLAN’s Model 056A weapon ships with submarine numbers 630 and 631, may be transferred to the Thai army together with the new facilities, said the sources, who declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the problem.
Since December when two vessels of the same class arrived in Ream, the Chinese navy has been teaching Cambodian naval personnel how to operate the ships. RFA was the first foreign media , to report , on their arrival.  ,
Several military analysts, including , Collin Koh, senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, previously told RFA that Cambodia likely had granted access for differential, such as rotational, deployment of Chinese ships at Ream” that’s strictly speaking not a basing arrangement” in order to avoid contravening its constitution.  ,
There would be an at least semi-permanent logistical presence of the Chinese navy at the base to support visiting warships, according to Thomas Shugart, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security in Washington.
According to satellite images, the new pier is estimated to be roughly 300 meters ( 1, 000 feet ) in length and “it ought to be able to accommodate any ship in the PLA Navy’s fleet, including its new Type 003 aircraft carrier”, Shugart told RFA.
According to satellite images, the naval base has undergone a rapid expansion and extensive renovation over the past year. It now has a dry dock, a wharf, and a number of large buildings, including offices and barracks, according to observation made on-site by RFA staff.
RFA reached out to the Cambodian Ministry of Defense to ask for comment on the ship’s and facility’s handover, but it never did.
US concerns
China and Cambodia began building the Ream naval base with Chinese funding in June 2021, riled up by the United States and some of Cambodia’s neighbors who were concerned about China’s growing military presence so close to the disputed waters of the South China Sea.
The United States expressed its” serious concerns” about , China’s apparent control , over parts of the Cambodian naval facility.  ,
Several U. S. funded facilities including a Tactical Headquarters of the National Committee for Maritime Security, and the Rigid-Hulled Inflatable Boat Maintenance Facility were , demolished or relocated , from the base in 2020.
The Vietnamese removed a facility called the” Joint Vietnamese Friendship” building from the base in 2021, allegedly to prevent conflicts with Chinese personnel.
Cambodia has repeatedly refuted the claim that China has had exclusive military access to the base, arguing that doing so would violate the country’s constitution.
Chinese officials added that the Cambodian naval base’s assistance was intended to improve Cambodia’s ability to maintain maritime territorial integrity and combat maritime crime rather than to establish a potential military base.
Foreign analysts question whether the two Chinese warships are stationed consistently at the base, which, in their opinion, indicated that China was establishing a permanent foothold on the Gulf of Thailand.
However, RFA’s analysis has established that the two ships that were seen at Ream this month are distinct from the two that were the base’s first foreign warships to dock there in early December last year.  ,
The ships there earlier were the Wenshan ( hull number 623 ) and Bazhong ( hull number 625 ), which, beside training Cambodian sailors, took part in the joint , Golden Dragon exercise , in May with Cambodian naval vessels.
The ships that were commissioned in January 2021 are the Aba ( hull number 630 ) and Tianmen ( hull number 631 ).
The 90-meter ( 300-foot ) Type 056A corvette is similar to the U. S. built littoral combat ship, suitable for mid-range and littoral missions and equipped for anti-submarine warfare. The Chinese navy’s South Sea Fleet, which is responsible for activities in the Southeast Asia region, has 20 such vessels.
Following the completion of the Aba, China discontinued manufacturing the Type 056A in 2019.
Cambodian defense ministry’s spokesperson Gen. Chhum Socheat , said in May , that Phnom Penh was planning to acquire such ships to serve its needs. At the anticipated transfer of next month, it is unclear whether or how much Cambodia will pay for the two corvettes.
RFA also had the opportunity to visit the area in Ream National Park, close to the naval base, where the Cambodian defense ministry has been working to establish an air defense command and general headquarters as well as a naval radar system. The site on a hill has seen the beginning of construction work, where trees have been dug up to make way for roads.
