First US warship visit to Chinese-built port in Cambodia cements new drift for Phnom Penh

After a U.S. warship visited the Chinese-built Ream Naval Base on the south coast of Cambodia last week, analysts warn the government here should brace for a response from Beijing.

Royal Cambodian Navy troops stand in formation to welcome the USS Cincinnati at the Ream Naval Base, Jan. 24, 2026.

The port call by the USS Cincinnati came amid a warming of relations with Washington after a decade of sour ties that took an unwanted toll on Southeast Asia, as Phnom Penh eschewed the West and embraced Beijing, its money, its influence and did its bidding.

“China will be quietly displeased and doubtful of Cambodia’s real intentions,” Deth Sok Udom, professor of international relations at Paragon International University in Phnom Penh, said. “But they are unlikely to voice that out openly.

“That said, it would be misleading to interpret this visit as a Cambodian strategic shift toward the U.S. at the expense of its relations with China, which continues to be a significant trade partner and investor to the Kingdom,” he added.

But Thai political commentator Pravit Rojanaphruk suggested Cambodia may have pushed too far in welcoming the Cincinnati at Ream which, he said, challenged China’s regional influence, raising the prospect of diplomatic and military repercussions.

“As China regards Cambodia and Southeast Asia as its backyard, it will likely respond to the encroachment of the U.S., not just diplomatically but militarily.

“We can expect China will try to neutralize U.S. influence in Cambodia and teach Cambodia a lesson or two in the months ahead, otherwise the U.S. might do something similar with Laos, which also has a special relationship with China,” he said.