Aerial photo taken on June 24, 2022 shows the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway project in Kampong Speu Province, Cambodia. [Photo/Xinhua]

Global Times-Top US Army officer for the Asia-Pacific region Gen. Ronald P. Clark was in Cambodia for a two-day visit this week, aiming to improve relations between the two nations and their militaries. According to media reports, the two discussed the possible resumption of the joint Angkor Sentinel military exercises, which was suspended by Cambodia in 2017.

The visit came as Western narratives have recently run deep surrounding Cambodia's foreign policy under Prime Minister Hun Manet. Some media outlets have questioned if Cambodia is "slipping out of China's orbit" and if the China-Cambodia "ironclad friendship" is starting to rust. When reporting on the top US general's visit, the Associated Press did not forget to mention China, claiming that there is particular concern about Cambodia's close ties with China.

Zhou Shixin, director of the Institute for Foreign Policy Studies at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, told the Global Times on Tuesday that compared to the previous Hun Sen government, the Hun Manet government indeed is trying to improve ties with the US, but it does not mean that Cambodia will completely lean toward the US at the cost of its China ties.

For a long time, the US has been saying that China would use the renovated Ream naval base in Cambodia to control nearby waters, even though the Cambodian side has made it clear that the Ream naval base is not for China or to be used by any military against another country. An analysis published last December by the Lowy Institute, a think tank based in Australia, a close US ally, asserted that "China could gain preferential access to the base or use its facilities there to collect intelligence against other states." This is just the typical Western narratives of "China threat" and "China expansion."

Peng Nian, director of the Hong Kong Research Center for Asian Studies, echoed Zhou's view. He said that "Cambodia will not pick a side between China and the US." Maintaining a balanced and pragmatic diplomacy benefits all countries, and Cambodia is no exception. The Cambodian media once noted that one of the central tenets of Hun Manet's foreign policy doctrine appears to be a commitment to an independent and non-aligned stance. Meanwhile, Cambodia is committed to friendly policies toward China and remains steadfast to its China approach. Assertions that Cambodia is pivoting toward the US while distancing itself from China are unfounded.

The China-Cambodia friendship, cultivated by the older generation of leaders of both countries, has stood the test of the changing international landscape. China and Cambodia see each other as the most trustworthy friend and the most reliable partner, and always firmly support each other's core interests. This is the defining feature of China-Cambodia relations and also serves as the foundation of the time-tested friendship between the two countries. 

At present, China and Cambodia are guiding the high-quality development of bilateral relations with high-level mutual trust, continue to enrich the "Diamond Hexagon" cooperation framework, and formulate cooperation plans for the Industrial Development Corridor and the "Fish and Rice Corridor." These cooperation projects are a clear answer to disruptive voices.

Ge Hongliang, vice dean of the ASEAN College at the Guangxi Minzu University, told the Global Times on Tuesday that driving a wedge between China and Southeast Asian countries is a key component of the US policy toward Southeast Asia, and at the defense level, the policy, as part of the US' Indo-Pacific Strategy, is likely to continue under the current US administration.

Nonetheless, the US' unwarranted concerns, as well as its interference in China's legitimate cooperation with regional countries like Cambodia, will only lead to growing discontent toward itself in the region and can hardly affect the ironclad friendship between China and Cambodia.