A US Navy ship will make its first port call in 8 years in Cambodia, a close ally of China
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — A US Navy warship will call at a port in Cambodia next week, China’s close ally in Southeast Asiathe first visit in eight years, according to a Cambodian statement Friday.
Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defense said the USS Savannah will dock at the port of Sihanoukville on the Gulf of Thailand from December 16 to 20. Savannah, classified as a Littoral Combat Ship, has a crew of 103, the ministry said.
The visit was planned following a US request for a port call, it added, and would “strengthen and expand ties of friendship and promote bilateral cooperation between the two nations.”
The United States has not yet announced the visit and there was no comment from the U.S. embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital.
Relations have long been rocky and Washington has criticized Cambodia’s government for this political repression and human rights violations. The US is also concerned about the upgrade of a Cambodian naval base near Sihanoukvillewhich it believes will be used by Chinese vessels to serve Beijing’s strategic interests in the region.
The US and others have also expressed concern that the Chinese navy would establish a base in Ream, giving it easier access to the Strait of Malacca, a crucial shipping route between the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.
The Ream base, on Cambodia’s southern coast, is not far from Sihanoukville.
The controversy over Chinese activities at Ream initially arose in 2019 when The Wall Street Journal reported that an early draft of an agreement seen by US officials would give China 30 years of use of the base, where it could station military personnel , store weapons and warships.
Cambodia’s government has denied such an agreement, insisting that the country’s constitution does not allow foreign military bases on its territory. Yet Chinese work at the grassroots continues.
Savannah will not dock at the naval base, although the Defense Department said the planned port visit will include “a working meeting with the commander of Ream Naval Base,” meetings with provincial officials and “a friendly sports competition between U.S. crews.” Navy and the Cambodian Navy.”
On Wednesday, the Cambodian Foreign Ministry noted “positive momentum of bilateral ties and cooperation” and “the revitalization of military-to-military cooperation” between Cambodia and the US.
Early June, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited Cambodia and held talks with Prime Minister Hun Manet and other senior officials. He also met with Cambodian alumni of U.S. military training programs. The Prime Minister graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point.