United States – US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with his Cambodian counterparts on Tuesday to discuss the possibilities of restarting the cooperation with the military drills, implying that the tension between the two countries that has worsened over the years due to Cambodia’s increasing ties with China might be easing.
The Pentagon said that Austin talked to Defense Minister Tea Seiha as well as PM Hun Manet and Senate President Hun Sen. The father of Hun Manet is the former prime minister of Cambodia, and his name is Hun Sen.
Defence Cooperation
The officials explored areas of defense cooperation to uphold peace and stability within the region, as well as the possible recommencement of joint military training, training on demining, and the participation of Cambodian officers in educational programs of the military of the United States of America, as said by Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder, as reported by Associated Press.
In a Telegram post, Hun Manet said that he and Austin talked about the prospect of continuing cooperation that potentially concerns the access of Cambodians to the US military education and joint exercises of the armed forces bertween two countries.
Cambodia, which is China’s closest ally in Southeast Asia, stopped conducting joint military maneuvers with the US in 2017.
Relations between the U.S. and Cambodia have not been very friendly for a long time due to Cambodia’s proximity to China and the Chinese military presence at a Cambodian navy base in the Gulf of Thailand, which has since been beefed up under China’s support. Washington has also commented on Cambodia’s Human Rights situation regarding its increased crackdown on political opponents and dissent.
The Cambodian officials also dismissed the notion that China would be allowed to use facilities to base equipment on the grounds that their nation is an impartial player in terms of defense.
Austin’s visit
Austin flew in from Singapore, where he took part in the Shangri-La defense forum and met with his counterpart, Adm. Dong Jun, as the U. S. and China begin to ease tensions in relations to their armed forces that may prove important as the two powers continue to clash in the Indo-Pacific region, as reported by Associated Press.
This visit was Austin’s first visit to Cambodia after the young Hun Manet took office as the country’s Prime Minister in October last year, succeeded by the country’s longest serving leader, Hun Sen. There emerges the anticipation for a change in policy between the United States and Cambodia with the handover, but as of now, Hun Manet adheres to his father’s policies.
Huon Manet was commander of the Cambodian army before assuming the position of prime minister in August of the present year. He and Austin are West Point graduates: Austin graduated in 1975 and Hun Manet was the first Cambodian to attend West Point, graduating in 1999.
Other Meetings
Austin also met Tuesday with Cambodian alumni of U. S. military education programs.
From Cambodia, Austin will proceed to France to attend events to mark the observation of the 80th anniversary of the D-Day operation during the Second World War, the U. S. Defense Department stated.
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