Virginia-based geospatial intelligence company BlackSky claimed the construction of a secret naval staging facility for Chinese military vessels on the coast of Cambodia. BlackSky CEO Brian O’Toole, speaking at the Defence and Intelligence Conference in London, shared satellite imagery. The images show that the construction will be a staging facility for China outside of its territory. It will allow China to reach Cambodia’s neighbours in the region and Taiwan.
BlackSky"s satellite imagery shows the pier extending into waters deep enough to service aircraft carriers, with columns deployed to a length sufficient to moor these vessels. Last year, reports surfaced that China was leasing a pier on the island of Ream off the coast of Sihanoukville, but the allegations were categorically denied by Phnom Penh, which responded by saying that granting access to the base would be a violation of Cambodia’s constitution. The Wall Street Journal published an account in July 2022 of US officials who had seen an early draught of a deal between Cambodia and China that would allow China to use the base for thirty years, storing weapons, posting military personnel, and mooring warships.
