UPDATES WITH STATEMENT BY CAMBODIAN SENATE PRESIDENT, US DEFENSE CHIEF AUSTIN; CHANGES HEADER, DECK, EDITS THROUGHOUT
By Riyaz ul Khaliq
ISTANBUL (AA) - Cambodia on Tuesday told US Defense Chief Llyod Austin to keep the Southeast Asian nation out of Washington’s geopolitical strategy.
Senate President Hun Sen “asked the US not to include Cambodia in its geopolitical strategy, and not to take Cambodia as a place for geopolitical competition as the Kingdom has been implementing her rule-based foreign policy,” state-run AKP News reported.
Austin arrived in Cambodia early Tuesday for a one-day visit, meeting with top government officials to discuss ways to strengthen their "bilateral defense relationship."
Besides Sen, Austin met with Prime Minister Hun Manet as well as his Cambodian counterpart Tea Seiha.
However, Sen expressed his “support” for Austin’s intention to “make bilateral relations between Cambodia and America better.”
“So far both sides have lacked in mutual trust and information and misjudgment which have led to misunderstanding,” Sen told the visiting US defense chief.
Sen, a former prime minister, considered dialogue in the defense sector of both countries a “priority for building more mutual trust and avoiding the loss of information.”
Acknowledging challenges in relations with Cambodia, Austin, however, told Sen that Washington “would work with Cambodia to improve relations.”
Besides encouraging Cambodian students to apply for US Military Academy West Point, Austin also signaled the US would work with Cambodia towards military dialogue, and joint military drills on disaster response “to build greater trust for the future benefit of both countries.”
The two sides also discussed the Russia-Ukraine war, the war in Gaza, and the disputes in the South China Sea.
In a brief post on X, Austin said he met with Prime Minister Hun Manet and discussed "how the US and Cambodia can strengthen our defense relationship in support of regional peace and stability.”
Prime Minister Manet graduated from the same US Military Academy West Point in 1999 that Austin did in 1975.
Austin’s trip to Cambodia came a few days after the Southeast Asian nation held a joint military drill with its northern neighbor China.
"I spent a productive day in Cambodia," Austin said as he concluded his trip to the Southeast Asian nation.
The US defense chief said he had "substantive conversations about ways to strengthen US-Cambodian defense ties, and I’m looking forward to further dialogue."