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Centre for Security & Strategic Studies
Conflict February 18, 2025 11222 Reads

Increased military spending and military exercises by China and Cambodia

D
By Divya Narvekar
Author • Centre for Security & Strategic Studies
Increased military spending and military exercises by China and Cambodia
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY & STRATEGIC TAKEAWAYS

China has been steadily increasing its defence budget for years, aiming to modernise its armed forces and project power regionally. This concerns some countries, particularly those with overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea. Cambodia has become a close ally of China, receiving significant economic aid and military assistance. The recent joint military exercise, code-named "Golden Dragon 2024," involved over 2,000 troops and showcased China's new technologies like gun-wielding robot dogs. The US and other regional powers are wary of China using Cambodia's Ream naval base, which China is helping to upgrade, for its own military purposes. This could potentially give China a strategic foothold in the Gulf of Thailand, close to the disputed South China Sea. While Cambodia maintains it won't allow foreign military bases, it values China's aid and the improved military capabilities gained through these exercises.