A U.S. Navy warship arrived in Cambodia on Monday, the first such visit to a country that is a close ally of Cambodia China in Southeast Asia. The Cambodian government has suggested the port call reflects an improvement in often strained relations.
The USS Savannah docked in the port of Sihanoukville on the Gulf of Thailand for a five-day visit. The Savannah, classified as a Littoral Combat Ship, has a crew of 103.
“It’s great to be back here after eight years and to bring the U.S. presence back here,” the ship’s commander, Daniel A. Sledz, said in brief remarks to reporters. He was given a bouquet of flowers by a Cambodian official and shook hands with a number of their colleagues.
The United States has had difficult relations with Cambodia for many years and has criticized the country’s government for political repression and human rights abuses. There are particular concerns about its close ties with China, as Washington fears it could gain exclusive access to a Cambodian naval base on the Gulf of Thailand, not far from where the Savannah docks.
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Recently there appears to have been a push to improve relations.
Cambodia’s Defense Ministry said last week that the visit was planned after a U.S. request for a port call and would “strengthen and expand the bonds of friendship and promote bilateral cooperation” between the two nations.
Two days earlier, the Cambodian Foreign Ministry noted a “positive dynamic of bilateral relations and cooperation” and “the revival of military cooperation” between Cambodia and the United States
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin In early June, he visited Cambodia, where he held talks with Prime Minister Hun Manet and other senior officials. He also met with Cambodian graduates of American military training programs. Hun Manet himself is a graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point.
The U.S. Department of Defense said at the time that Austin’s discussions covered “ways to strengthen the U.S.-Cambodia bilateral defense relationship in support of regional peace and security” and other topics.
But Washington remains concerned about Cambodia’s upgrading Ream Naval Base near Sihanoukville will serve Beijing’s strategic interests in the region.
The U.S. and others are proposing that China’s navy establish a permanent base in Ream, which would give it easier access to the Malacca Strait, a key shipping route between China South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.
The controversy over Chinese activities at Ream first emerged in 2019, when the Wall Street Journal reported that an early draft agreement seen by U.S. officials would allow China to use the base for 30 years, where it could station and store military personnel could weapons and berth warships.
The Cambodian government has denied such an agreement or any intention to grant China special privileges at the base, even though Beijing has financed the expansion.
Washington said the Ream base could give Beijing an important strategic position in the Gulf of Thailand near the disputed South China Sea, which China claims almost entirely.
Chinese warships docked at the 1,190-foot-long pier for the first time in December last year. Two of them docked in the port of Sihanoukville in May as part of Beijing’s largest joint military exercise with Cambodia.
The Chinese military introduced machine gun-equipped “robodogs” this year at annual joint exercises known as the Golden Dragon exercises.
According to the Cambodian Defense Ministry, 27 U.S. Navy ships have visited the country since 2007, although the USS Savannah’s visit was the first docking in eight years.
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On Monday, Beijing responded to the US warship’s visit to Sihanoukville, saying: “Such exchanges and cooperation in the areas of security and defense should contribute to promoting regional peace and stability rather than the opposite.”
In September, Cambodia’s defense ministry said China was donating to its navy two warships of the type that the country has been docked for months. China will hand over two newly built Type 56 corvettes – smaller ships normally used for coastal patrols – next year at the earliest, after Cambodia asked China for assistance.
The Cambodian Defense Ministry said the Savannah’s port call will include “a working meeting with the commander of Naval Base Ream,” as well as meetings with provincial officials and “a friendly sports competition between U.S. Navy and Cambodian Navy crews.”
Cambodian Navy Capt. Mean Savoeun, deputy commander of Ream Naval Base, was among those who greeted the Savannah at the port in Sihanoukville. He said he was pleased with the good relations between Cambodia and the US, especially their navy, and believed the visit would lead to closer diplomatic cooperation.
The littoral combat ship USS Savannah (LCS 28) was commissioned in 2022 and is the sixth ship named in honor of the city of Savannah. according to the US Navy.
“The LCS is a fast, agile, mission-oriented platform designed to operate in near-shore environments while also being capable of open ocean tasks,” the Navy says. “The LCS can support forward presence, maritime security, sea control and deterrence.
Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.
