U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Cambodia on Tuesday to strengthen military ties with China's closest ally in Southeast Asia. During his one-day visit to Phnom Penh, Austin met with Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Seiha and Prime Minister Hun Manet. The Cambodian Defense Ministry stated that the visit aimed to enhance the longstanding cooperation between the two countries, which has spanned over 70 years.
Prior to his visit to Cambodia, Austin attended the Shangri-La defense forum in Singapore and engaged in discussions with his Chinese counterpart, Adm. Dong Jun. This comes as the U.S. and China are working to improve communication between their militaries amidst escalating tensions in the Indo-Pacific region.
