PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin traveled to Cambodia on Tuesday to push for closer military ties with China’s closest ally in Southeast Asia.
Austin met with 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. He said Austin’s visit would strengthen the current good cooperation between the countries that has lasted more than 70 years.
Austin arrived from Singapore, where he attended the Shangri-La Advocacy Forum and held talks with his Chinese counterpart, Admiral Dong Jun, while the United States and China gradually work to repair lines of communication 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, largely due to Phnom Penh’s close ties to China, and particularly China’s military presence at a naval base in the Gulf of Thailand that has been upgraded with the help from Beijing. Washington has also been vocal about what it sees as a poor human rights record in Cambodia, which has seen continued clampdowns on dissidents and political critics.
Cambodian officials deny that China has special basing privileges and say their country maintains a neutral defense posture.
The visit was Austin’s first to Cambodia since Hun Manet He became prime minister last year, succeeding his father Hun Sen, who held the position for 38 years. The handover has led to speculation about a reset in relations between the United States and Cambodia, although Hun Manet has so far maintained his father’s policies.
Hun Manet was a commander in Cambodia’s army before becoming prime minister last August. He and Austin both graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point: Austin in 1975 and Hun Manet in 1999, as the first Cambodian cadet there.
Austin also held separate talks Tuesday with Hun Sen, who is now the Senate president.
From Cambodia, Austin will travel to France to attend events commemorating the 80th anniversary of the World War II D-Day landings, the U.S. Department of Defense said.
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