By Thai Newsroom Reporters
IN WHAT WAS SEEN as a rare phenomenon, a United States combat ship is currently docking in Cambodia’s Sihanoukville, registering the first visit of its kind for the world superpower’s navy to the Southeast Asian country in eight years.
Littoral Combat Ship USS Savannah (LCS-28), attached to the US Indo-Pacific Command, is currently anchored at the Cambodian port city for her 103 sailors to take a five-day shore leave until the upcoming Friday.
Relationships between Washington and Phnom Penh have considerably turned sour over the last several years in the wake of Beijing’s expansionism with the Chinese-aided upgrading of Ream naval base, about 30km south of Sihanoukville.
The Chinese-aided activity at Ream naval base has ostensibly raised concerns among US strategic planners in regard to current Indo-Pacific scenarios where maritime provocations and standoffs between China’s and the Philippines’ Coast Guard forces remain unabated over reefs and atolls in the South China Sea riddled with overlapping claims of maritime territorial integrity between countries.
However, the remarkable visit to Sihanoukville by the USS Savannah and her crew members headed by Cdr Daniel Sledz is more or less expected to restore to some extent the strained relationship between the US and Cambodia whilst paving way for the Southeast Asian country’s supposed contribution to multinational efforts toward regional peace, security and prosperity.
Since 2017, Cambodia, practically viewed as a Chinese ally, has stopped taking part in annual military exercises which the US Indo-Pacific Command has conducted alongside Southeast Asian states in the wake of Chinese expansionism in the region.
CAPTIONS:
Top: Daniel A. Sledz, left, commanding officer of USS Savannah, shakes hands with Cambodian Deputy Commander of Ream Naval Base, Capt. Mean Savoeun, front right, as it arrives for a port call at Sihanoukville port, Cambodia, on Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. Photo: AP/Heng Sinith and published by Yahoo!News
First below: Cambodian naval troops stand to welcome USS Savannah as it arrives for a port call at Sihanoukville port, Cambodia, on Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. Photo: AP/Heng Sinith and published by Yahoo!News
Second below: In this photo released by the official Facebook page of the Ream Naval Base, Cambodian navy crew stand on a patrol boat at the Ream Naval Base in Sihanoukville, southwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023. Photo: Ream Naval Base’s Facebook page via AP and published by Yahoo!News
Third below: This photo released by the official Facebook page of the Ream Naval Base, shows a part of Cambodian Ream Naval Base in Sihanoukville, southwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023. Photo: Ream Naval Base’s Facebook page via AP and published by Yahoo!News
Front Page: Top Daniel A. Sledz, left, commanding officer of USS Savannah, talks with a Cambodian naval staff member as it arrives for a port call at Sihanoukville port, Cambodia, on Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. Photo: AP/Heng Sinith and published by Yahoo!News
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