Cambodia to resume military drills with US next year

Cambodia and the United States will resume military drills next year after a decade-long hiatus, Prime Minister Hun Manet announced on Friday. The decision comes following a meeting between Hun Manet and Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon's top policy official, in Phnom Penh. The resumption of the joint exercises, known as Angkor Sentinel, is intended to strengthen the bond between the armies of the two nations, according to a Facebook post by Hun Manet.

The US and Cambodia last conducted joint military exercises for seven years until Phnom Penh suspended them in early 2017, just months after initiating their first Golden Dragon drills with Chinese military. China and Cambodia recently held their largest joint military exercises to date, incorporating advanced Chinese weaponry, including artillery, warships, and even robot battle dogs.

Phnom Penh has been one of China's closest allies in Southeast Asia, receiving substantial investments. Recently, the US has expressed concerns over the Chinese-funded renovation of Cambodia's Ream Naval Base, situated off the country's southern coast in the Gulf of Thailand. Washington argues that the base, partly funded by the US, could grant China a strategic advantage near the disputed South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely.

Despite these tensions, US officials remain optimistic. During an online briefing with journalists, Colby expressed the United States' eagerness to expand the defense partnership with Cambodia in a pragmatic manner, aimed at safeguarding the country's territorial integrity and sovereignty.