US warship visit to Cambodia base shows continued warming ties
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The USS Cincinnati combat ship navigating near the disputed Scarborough Shoal on Aug 13.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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A US warship docked at Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base on Jan 24 for a five-day visit, signalling a continued thaw in military relations after years of tension over access to the strategic port in the Gulf of Thailand.
The USS Cincinnati, an Independence-class littoral combat ship, is the third foreign naval vessel to visit Ream since its upgrade and official reopening in 2025, according to Cambodian state media.
During the visit, US and Cambodian naval officers will hold meetings and joint exercises focused on maritime security and operational coordination.
The visit underscores growing engagement between the two nations in recent years, including Washington lifting an arms embargo on the South-east Asian nation and plans to revive flagship military exercises for the first time in eight years.
The US has long expressed concerns that Cambodia could grant Beijing exclusive access to Ream, a claim that Phnom Penh has played down. China nevertheless maintains use of some facilities, including the base’s largest pier, according to the Washington-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.
The last US naval presence in Cambodia was in 2024, when the USS Savannah docked in nearby Sihanoukville, marking the first US port call in eight years.
In 2025, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the return of the Angkor Sentinel drills after meeting his Cambodian counterpart on the sidelines of a security summit in Malaysia.
Cambodia previously nominated US President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in easing border tensions with Thailand, and was among the first countries to secure a coveted US trade deal in 2025 amid Washington’s tariff threats.
The Department of Defence’s long-awaited National Defence Strategy, released on Jan 23, directed the Pentagon to “maintain a favourable balance of military power in the Indo-Pacific”.
The Trump administration’s annual defence strategy report took a softer tone towards China than in previous years, emphasising deterrence “through strength, not confrontation”. Bloomberg
