A Change of Guard

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Tuesday 27 November 2007

US Naval Warship Arrives In Cambodia

Photos: USS Essex Docked at Sihanoukville Bay.



US Naval Warship Arrives In Cambodia - AFP .
SIHANOUKVILLE (AFP)--The U.S. navy's USS Essex arrived Monday in Cambodia, the second U.S. warship this year to make a port call to this former communist country in a sign of growing military relations.
During their week-long visit the crew of the Essex, which includes both sailors and marines, will conduct medical and dental clinics as well as training exercises with the Cambodian military, the embassy said.
"This represents only the second time that a U.S. naval vessel has visited Cambodia in the past 30 years," said Piper Campbell, the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy.
The USS Gary was the first, docking in the port town of Sihanoukville in February in what at the time was hailed as the first step in closer military ties.
"These visits are a dramatic representation of the strengthening and the broadening of the relationship between the United States and Cambodia," Campbell said.
The USS Essex visit, also to Sihanoukville, comes amid growing concern over China's military buildup and influence in the region.
Beijing, a long-time ally of successive Cambodian governments, including the genocidal 1975-79 Khmer Rouge regime, has significantly boosted its aid to the impoverished country, including military hardware.
Earlier this month China delivered nine navy patrol craft, bringing to 15 the number of military vessels it has given since 2005 in a bid to bolster Cambodia's aging fleet.
U.S. officials have previously downplayed Washington's growing military involvement with Cambodia, saying it wasn't an attempt to block China's inroads into the region.
Since Washington lifted a ban on military aid to Cambodia in 2005 it has conducted a number of training programs to combat bird flu and prepare Cambodian soldiers for UN peacekeeping missions.

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