Diplomacy : Hun Sen request the USA “ stop including Cambodia in its geopolitical strategy ”

President of the Senate has demanded that the U.S. stop including Cambodia in its geopolitical strategy. He also wants them to stop viewing Cambodia as a place for geopolitical competition, given that Cambodia has been implementing his own rule-based foreign policy.

The request was made while he was receiving visiting U.S. Defence Secretary H.E. Gen. Lloyd Austin at the Senate Palace yesterday morning. Photo AKP

Samdech Techo Hun Sen further expressed his support for H.E. Lloyd Austin’s intention to improve bilateral relations between Cambodia and America. He added that both sides have lacked mutual trust and information, which has led to misunderstanding.

The Senate President made it clear that he considers dialogue in the defence sector of both countries to be a priority for building more mutual trust and avoiding the loss of information.

In this context, Samdech Techo Hun Sen thanked the U.S. for its help in many areas in Cambodia and encouraged more effective and efficient cooperation. He also asked the American side to encourage more American businessmen to invest in Cambodia.

H.E. Lloyd Austin confirmed that the U.S. would work with Cambodia to improve relations between the two countries, despite some challenges.

The US Secretary of Defence praised the Royal Government for its strong stance in the field of defence, which will maintain the bilateral relation between the two countries.

H.E. Lloyd Austin stated that the U.S. would authorise Cambodian students to apply for West Point Academy, promote military dialogue, and organise joint military drills on disaster response to build greater trust for the future benefit of both countries.

Both sides also exchanged views and solutions about the Russia-Ukraine war, the Israeli-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip, and the South China Sea issue.

AKP