Phnom Penh, June 4 (AseanAll)  — Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen has asked the U.S. not to include Cambodia in its geopolitical strategy, and not to take Cambodia as a place for geopolitical competition as the Kingdom has been implementing her rule-base foreign policy.

The request was made while he was receiving visiting U.S. Defence Secretary Gen. Lloyd Austin, at Cambodian Senate Palace on the morning of June 4, 2024.

Hun Sen further expressed his support for Lloyd Austin’s intention to make bilateral relation between Cambodia and America better, adding that so far both sides have lacked in mutual trust and information and misjudgment which have lead to misunderstanding.

The Senate President also considered dialogue in defence sector of both countries a priority for building more mutual trust and avoiding the loss of information.

Taking this opportunity, Hun Sen thanked the U.S. for its helps in many areas in Cambodia, and encouraged more effective and efficient cooperation. He also asked the American side to encourage more American investors to invest in Cambodia.

For his part, Lloyd Austin confirmed that the U.S would work with Cambodia to improve relations of both countries although Cambodia and the U.S. still have had some challenges. 

The US Secretary of Defence praised the Royal Government for her strong stance in the field of defence to maintain the bilateral relation between the two countries.

According to Lloyd Austin, the U.S. would authorise Cambodian students to apply for West Point academy, promote the exchanges of military dialogue, and organise joint military drills on disaster response to build greater trust for the future benefit of both countries.

Both sides also exchanged views and solution about the Russia-Ukraine war, the Israeli-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip and the South China Sea issue.