The US and Cambodia will revive their flagship joint military exercises, known as ‘Angkor Sentinel’, for the first time in eight years in the latest sign of warming ties, following a flurry of deals between the two sides, including a Trump-backed peace accord with Thailand.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the return of the exercises after a meeting with his Cambodian counterpart on October 31, on the sidelines of a security summit in Malaysia.
‘Angkor Sentinel’ is an annual bilateral exercise that includes a battalion-level command post exercise (CPX), an engineer civic action project (ENCAP) and medical civic action projects (MEDCAP).
They focus on training both forces to support peacekeeping and stability operations.
Cambodia and the US had conducted the joint military exercise for seven years, until 2017, when Cambodia asked to cancel the drill, citing local and national elections.
At that time, there was a perception that Cambodia was increasingly turning to China, participating instead in military exercises under its Golden Dragon program.
Last week, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit, US President Donald Trump oversaw the signing of a joint declaration between Cambodia and Thailand, aimed at easing border tensions.
During the ASEAN Summit, discussions were held regarding Hegseth joining a future US naval flotilla on a visit to Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base.
According to the White House's statement issued after the summit, the US will remove its arms embargo on Cambodia, acknowledging the Kingdom’s “diligent pursuit” of peace and security.
Separately, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said that he and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel have pledged, during a phone call, to boost cooperation.
