The US defense secretary will visit Cambodia, one of China’s closest allies, after regional talks

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is scheduled to make an official visit to Cambodia, one of China’s closest allies in Southeast Asia, after holding talks with his Chinese counterpart at an annual security conference in Singapore, officials said.

A U.S. Defense Department statement issued in Washington on Friday said Austin would travel next week to Singapore, Cambodia and France.

He will visit Cambodia June 4 after attending the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. Among the talks he is planning there is one with his Chinese counterpart Adm. Dong Jun, the Defense Department said. The encounter would be part of an effort to patch up ties that have deteriorated over Beijing’s aggressive policies toward Taiwan and its vast territorial claims in the South China Sea.

U.S. relations with Cambodia have been frosty for years, in large part because of Phnom Penh’s close ties with China. Washington has also been vocal about what it sees as Cambodia’s poor human rights record, which has seen continuing clampdowns on political dissidents and critics.

Cambodia is Beijing’s closest ally in Southeast Asia, and Washington is particularly concerned that a naval base in southern Cambodia on the Gulf of Thailand has been upgraded with Chinese assistance to serve as a strategic outpost for China’s navy.

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