US defense secretary meets Cambodia’s top officials to push for stronger ties with China’s ally

By SOPHENG CHEANG
Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in Cambodia to push for stronger military ties with China’s closest ally in Southeast Asia. Austin met his Cambodian counterpart and Prime Minister Hun Manet during a one-day visit to Phnom Penh on Tuesday. He arrived from Singapore, where he attended the Shangri-La defense forum and held talks with his Chinese counterpart. The U.S. and China are gradually working to repair lines of communications between their militaries that could be critical as tensions continue to rise between the two in the Indo-Pacific region.