Prime Minister Hun Manet (right) greets US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a meeting in Phnom Penh on June 4. US Department of Defense website
A US official said the US defence chief and Cambodian leadership have discussed the possibility of resuming military training and exchanges between the two countries on disaster relief and peacekeeping under the auspices of the UN, clearance of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and the Kingdom’s access to US professional military education programmes.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met separately with Prime Minister Hun Manet, a fellow alumnus of the US Millitary Academy at West Point, former Prime Minister and current Senate President Hun Sen and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Tea Seiha on June 4.
US Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder said Austin and the Cambodian leadership welcomed continued discussion on these issues between the two countries’ defence institutions.
“We’re encouraged about the possibility of resuming our military training and exchanges, including on humanitarian assistance, de-mining and UXO clearance and UN peacekeeping. There's a lot our two countries can do together.
"The secretary often talks about the importance of meeting face-to-face, especially in this part of the world. That was true again today as he engaged Cambodia's new leadership. And these were candid, concrete discussions.
“This kind of engagement matters for the future. Cambodia is a young country in a young region. Our defense relationship has a lot of potential and room for growth. That's why it's so important to stay engaged here," Ryder, who was traveling with Austin, said in a June 4 press statement.
Manet believes Austin’s visit will provide new opportunities to expand defence cooperation between the two countries, including the fight against terrorism, human and drug trafficking, according to the prime minister’s June 4 social media post.
“Manet and Austin also discussed mechanisms to reorganise cooperation in areas such as military student exchanges between the two countries and joint exercises between Cambodian and US troops,” it said.
In a meeting with Austin, Hun Sen agreed with Austin’s intention to expand ‘good relations’, which Hun Sen had previously considered ‘not too bad’, according to the senate president’s June 4 social media post.
“Hun Sen considered that in the past, both sides lacked mutual trust, so we need to find ways to build more trust.
“Another shortcoming is the lack of information and misjudgment, which confuses the two sides because they did not exchange information and did not discuss it,” it said.
Hun Sen asked the US not to include Cambodia in its geopolitical rivalry strategy and not to use Cambodia as a place to compete geopolitically.
He stressed that to improve relations, the two countries need to shrink obstacles and expand cooperation more effectively, saying: “What we have cooperated on in the past – the dialogue between the two defence ministries, other dialogues and the joint military exercise must continue.”
Hun Sen and Austin agreed to continue their dialogue to explore new ways to strengthen the relationship between Cambodia and the US, according to the senate president’s social media post.
"The US will reopen to allow Cambodian students to study at [West Point], exchange conversations on military matters, conduct joint military exercises for disaster management, continue demining and UXO training and start a defence dialogue to resolve differences and build greater trust for the future of the two countries, which will be mutually beneficial," it said.
Hun Sen considered dialogue, particularly in the field of defense, to be a priority in order to dispel mutual suspicions and rebuild greater trust between the two countries.
Austin wrote on X (formerly Twitter) after concluding his June 4 visit that he had spent a "productive day" in Cambodia meeting with Manet and other senior Cambodian officials.
"We had substantive conversations about ways to strengthen US-Cambodian defence ties, and I’m looking forward to further dialogue," he said.
In the meeting with Hun Sen, Austin said that the US and Cambodia sought opportunities to strengthen bilateral defence relations. In the meeting with Manet, both sides discussed ways to enhance defense relations between the two countries in support of regional peace and stability.
In a meeting with Seiha, Austin wrote that the two discussed the future of US-Cambodia defence ties.
