Him Rotha, Deputy Director of CCRS, shared his thoughts with Kiripost regarding the resumption of Angkor Sentinel and overall warmth of Cambodia-US relations:
Him Rotha, Deputy Director of the Cambodian Centre for Regional Studies, noted that while there are many issues that both sides can gradually converge, the military drill is a meaningful gesture of the “reset in ties between Cambodia and the US”.
“It’s a welcome sign that there are interactions between the US and the Cambodian military, as reflected by the recent high-level visits to Cambodia by senior US military officials,” he said. This includes the visit of US Indo-Pacific Commander Samuel Paparo and the docking of USS Cincinnati at Ream Naval Base from 24-28 January 2026.
Rotha stressed that Cornelia’s visit was another step to push forward growing military relations between Cambodia and the US.
“More to come, but some common grounds have been built, like the lifting of the arms embargo, the resumption of military scholarship, and on other issues, like law enforcement cooperation on transnational crimes and the renewed training of police and military in recent years,” he said.
However, Rotha noted that it will not be easy for small states like Cambodia to navigate ties between great powers amid a growing zero-sum game geopolitical environment.
“It is important that Cambodia continues to proactively exercise its agency to promote more manoeuvring spaces for itself in having good relations with all friendly partners that are important for its national development,” he said.