Cambodia’s army to resume joint military exercises with the US next year

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia ’s army announced Friday that it will resume joint military exercises with the United States early next year after they had been suspended for almost a decade.

The announcement on the Facebook page of the Royal Cambodian Army came after several recent meetings of the countries’ top defense and other officials intended to patch up rocky relations. Cambodia halted such exercises with the U.S. in 2017.

The army’s statement said the two countries have agreed to hold a joint drill, “ Exercise Angkor Sentinel 2027,” in February. The news suggested the two sides made progress in overcoming their differences, including Washington’s concerns about Cambodia’s close economic and political ties with China.

The exercise aims to strengthen “interoperability and disaster-response capabilities, reflecting renewed momentum in Cambodia–U.S. military cooperation and a shared commitment to strengthening defense cooperation,” said Friday’s statement.

Washington has been especially concerned about China’s military presence at a Cambodian navy base on the Gulf of Thailand. Beijing assisted with a major upgrade of the base, and the United States has voiced its suspicions that China was granted special but secret privileges there. Cambodian officials have repeatedly rejected that.

The U.S. has also been critical of Cambodia’s human rights record, including continuing clampdowns on political dissidents and critics, often through legal action by courts that rights groups say are under the influence of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party of Prime Minister Hun Manet.

Hun Manet held talks on Aug. 14 with Elbridge A. Colby, Under Secretary for Policy at the U.S. Department of War, on bilateral relations, especially on defense matters, and the resumption of military exercises. Colby is the third-ranking official in the War Department.

Hun Manet said at the time he was satisfied with the “positive momentum in Cambodia–U.S. relations” and the progress in preparing for renewing the Angkor Sentinel exercise, as well as the continued cooperation in capacity-building for the Cambodian Armed Forces.

He stressed that “the joint exercises and training not only build military capability but also serve as a vital bridge to foster close friendship between the armed forces of both countries.”

U.S. Navy Adm. Steve Koehler, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, also met with Cambodian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Gen. Vong Pisen in August. The men said there were plans to resume a bilateral maritime exercise that had also been suspended in 2017.