US Navy warship will make its first port call in 8 years in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — A U.S. Navy warship will make a port call next week in Cambodia, China’s close ally in Southeast Asia , the first such visit in eight years, according to a Cambodian statement Friday.

Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defense said the littoral combat ship Savannah will dock at the port of Sihanoukville on the Gulf of Thailand on Dec. 16-20. Savannah carries a crew of 103, the ministry said.

The visit was scheduled after a U.S. request for a port call, it added, and would “strengthen and expand the bonds of friendship as well as 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 political repression and human rights violations . The U.S. has also been concerned about the upgrading of a Cambodian naval base near Sihanoukville , which it believes will be utilized by Chinese vessels to serve Beijing’s strategic interests in the region.

The U.S. and others have also expressed concerns about China’s navy establishing a base at Ream, which would give it easier access to the Malacca Strait, a critical shipping route between the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.

The Ream base, on Cambodia’s southern coast, is not far from Sihanoukville.

Controversy over the Chinese activity at Ream initially arose in 2019 when The Wall Street Journal reported that an early draft of an agreement seen by U.S. officials would allow China 30-year use of the base, where it would be able to post military personnel, store weapons and berth warships.

Cambodia’s government has denied such an agreement, emphasizing that the country's constitution did not allow foreign military bases on its soil. Still, Chinese work on the base has continued.

Savannah will not dock at the naval base, though the defense ministry said the planned port call will include “a working meeting with the commander of the Ream Naval Base,” meetings with provincial officials and “a friendship sports competition between the crews of the U.S. Navy and the Cambodian Navy.”

On Wednesday, Cambodia’s foreign ministry noted “positive momentum of bilateral ties and cooperation” and “the reinvigoration of military-to-military cooperation" between Cambodia and the U.S.

In early June, U.S. Defense Secretary 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 U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

柬埔寨金边——据柬埔寨周五发表的一份声明称，一艘美国海军军舰将于下周访问柬埔寨港口。柬埔寨是中国在东南亚的亲密盟友，这将是八年来美国军舰的首次访问。

柬埔寨国防部表示，濒海战斗舰“萨凡纳”号将于12月16日至20日停靠在泰国湾的西哈努克港。该部称，“萨凡纳”号舰员编制为103人。

声明还补充说，此次访问是应美国要求进行的港口访问安排的，将“加强和扩大两国之间的友谊纽带，并促进双边合作”。

美国尚未宣布此次访问，美国驻柬埔寨首都金边大使馆也未对此发表评论。

美柬关系长期以来一直紧张，华盛顿一直批评柬埔寨政府进行政治镇压和侵犯人权。美国还对柬埔寨在西哈努克港附近升级海军基地表示担忧，认为中国舰艇将利用该基地服务于北京在该地区的战略利益。

美国和其他国家也对中国海军在里姆建立基地表示担忧，这将使中国海军更容易进入马六甲海峡，这是南海和印度洋之间的一条重要航道。

位于柬埔寨南部海岸的里姆基地距离西哈努克城不远。

关于中国在里姆的活动的争议最初出现在 2019 年，当时《华尔街日报》报道称，美国官员看到的一份协议早期草案将允许中国使用该基地 30 年，期间中国可以在那里部署军事人员、储存武器和停泊军舰。

柬埔寨政府否认存在此类协议，并强调该国宪法不允许在其领土上设立外国军事基地。尽管如此，中国在该基地的工作仍在继续。

萨凡纳号不会停靠海军基地，但国防部表示，计划中的港口访问将包括“与里姆海军基地指挥官举行工作会议”、与省级官员会面以及“美国海军和柬埔寨海军官兵之间的友谊体育比赛”。

周三，柬埔寨外交部指出，柬埔寨与美国之间“双边关系与合作势头良好”，“两军合作重焕活力”。

6月初，美国国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀访问柬埔寨，与首相洪玛奈及其他高级官员举行了会谈。他还与曾参加美国军事训练项目的柬埔寨学员会面。洪玛奈首相毕业于美国西点军校。