Twenty-seven US navy vessels have visited Cambodia since 2007. (AFP pic)
PHNOM PENH: A US warship will dock in Cambodia next week, the country’s defence ministry said today, in the first American military port call in eight years to one of China’s closest regional allies.
Washington’s relationship with Phnom Penh has been deteriorating for years, with China pouring billions of dollars into infrastructure investments under Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen.
In a statement, the ministry said the USS Savannah’s visit to the southern port city of Sihanoukville aims to “strengthen and expand friendship” and “promote bilateral cooperation between Cambodia and the US”.
Since 2022, China has been funding the renovation of the Ream naval base – some 30km from Sihanoukville – originally built partly using US funds.
Washington has said Ream could give Beijing a key strategic position in the Gulf of Thailand near the disputed South China Sea, which China largely claims.
But Cambodian officials have repeatedly denied that the base is for use by any foreign power.
Chinese warships first docked at the base in December last year, and in May two berthed at Sihanoukville port as part of Beijing’s biggest-ever joint military drills with Cambodia.
Cambodia’s defence ministry said 27 US navy vessels have visited the nation since 2007, but that next week’s five-day visit would be the first docking in eight years.
Members of the ship’s 103 crew will meet with Ream’s commander and engage in activities to “enhance the exchange of culture and cooperation”, the statement said.
The announcement follows a visit by US defence secretary Lloyd Austin in June aimed at resetting ties with the staunch China ally.
Cambodia’s foreign minister Prak Sokhonn and the US embassy’s Bridgette Walker yesterday hailed the “reinvigoration” of military ties between the two countries.
