US defense secretary meets Cambodia’s top officials to push for stronger ties with China’s ally

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin traveled to Cambodia on Tuesday to push for stronger military ties with China’s closest ally in Southeast Asia.

Austin met his Cambodian counterpart, Tea Seiha, and Prime Minister Hun Manet during a one-day visit to Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement. It said Austin’s visit would strengthen the ongoing good cooperation between the countries that has lasted more than 70 years.

Austin arrived from Singapore, where he attended the Shangri-La defense forum and held talks with his Chinese counterpart, Adm. Dong Jun, as the the U.S. and China gradually work to repair lines of communications between their militaries that could be critical as tensions continue to rise between the two in the Indo-Pacific region.

U.S. relations with Cambodia have been frosty for years, in large part because of Phnom Penh’s close ties with China, and particularly China’s military presence at a navy base in the Gulf of Thailand that has been upgraded with Beijing’s assistance. 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.

Cambodian officials deny China will have any special basing privileges and say their country maintains a neutral defense posture.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> The US defense secretary will visit Cambodia, one of China’s closest allies, after regional talks