When a US warship docked in Cambodia this week, it moored just a few kilometres from a base where China has built an extended new pier and two of Beijing's own vessels have been berthed for about a year.
The United States has said the Ream naval base could grant China a strategic position in the Gulf of Thailand, near the disputed South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety.
Washington is now looking to bolster its relationship with Cambodia, after Phnom Penh scrapped joint military exercises in 2017.
Cambodia has long been one of China’s staunchest allies in Southeast Asia, and Beijing has extended its influence over Phnom Penh in recent years.
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