The United States has been "rebalancing to the Asia-Pacific" since the Obama era. In other words, Americans have to focus more energy and attention on the Asia-Pacific region. It has been more than ten years since the Trump and Biden administrations.

In this international review, Uncle Mu analyzes the relationship between the United States and Southeast Asia.

Let’s start with a small country! This small country is Cambodia .

Although the country does not have much international status and does not even have much say in Southeast Asia, the country has a very good relationship with China, which has become one of the most important reasons why they are targeted by the United States.

The United States has begun "rebalancing to the Asia-Pacific" since the Obama era. In other words, Americans must focus more energy and attention on the Asia-Pacific region. After experiencing the Trump and Biden administrations, there are now ten It's been years.

From the perspective of the United States, uniting all Asia-Pacific partners that can be united to jointly deal with the rise of China is the most important means to maintain the United States' advantage in the region. Therefore, one aspect of the competition between China and the United States in the Asia-Pacific region is the competition in "making friends."

The United States will be unhappy and nervous if China has more partners in the region. On the contrary, if the Americans win over more countries, China's security will also be potentially threatened.

After all, there are only so many countries, and the number is limited. If these countries are forced to take sides between China and the United States, a " zero-sum game " may arise.

So, the relationship between Cambodia and China has not been good for a day or two. Why is the United States so tense recently?

One reason is that Cambodia dismantled two naval facilities built with US aid last year.

Just demolish it. Cambodia has done something that makes Americans even more nervous. In the same area, Cambodia allows China to build facilities related to military cooperation between the two countries.

Americans have expressed dissatisfaction with Cambodia's Hun Sen government many times in the past. But the protests are basically issued in the name of the US Embassy in Cambodia.

For example, in November last year, the U.S. Embassy accused the Cambodian government of not notifying the United States when it dismantled U.S. military facilities. Americans feel regretful and disappointed about this.

However, the Cambodian Defense Minister retorted that these facilities already belong to Cambodia and there is no need for Cambodia to tell the United States in advance. At the same time, the defense minister also reassured the United States, saying that this move would not mean a change in the relationship between Cambodia and the United States, and Cambodia would not damage cooperation between the two countries.

However, with the strengthening of military cooperation between China and Cambodia, Americans are becoming increasingly restless.

Especially after the Biden administration came to power, it placed more emphasis on pressure from joint partners on China than during the Trump period. Therefore, the United States has repeatedly asked Cambodia to explain in the past six months. Cambodia has also been under considerable pressure.

Wendi and Hun Sen

Media reports on June 2 said that U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendi Sherman paid a brief visit to Cambodia. This was the first time since 2012 that the highest-level U.S. official visited Phnom Penh in the past 10 years and met with Cambodia. Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Wendi is a senior diplomat who is mainly responsible for the United States' affairs in Southeast Asia. She is obviously well prepared for this visit. Moreover, this visit was basically a surprise visit and was arranged in a hurry. Because the relationship between the two countries is not very good.

According to a subsequent statement issued by the US official, when Wendi met with Hun Sen, he publicly asked Hun Sen to give the US an explanation: Why did it dismantle US military facilities and allow China to build them almost at the same time?

Wendi said that the United States is "seriously concerned" about Cambodia's move, which will have a negative impact on relations between the United States and Cambodia.

She also suggested that Hun Sen did not consider the interests of the Cambodian people and did not maintain independence and balance in diplomacy. She thus urged Hun Sen to be more logical in his foreign policy. In addition, Wendi also asked Hun Sen to protect human rights in the country.

Americans are still very fierce. They come to criticize the Cambodian Prime Minister face to face and question their cooperation with China. As a small country, Cambodia certainly cannot be angry at the United States, so it should be patient and explain!

However, Uncle Mu believes that the relationship between Cambodia and China will become stronger over time and will not be easily affected by the United States. Although the Americans protested, they could not force Cambodia to interrupt cooperation with China. Hun Sen has been in power for more than 30 years, and friendship with China has always been the main tone. As long as he is still in power, we must have confidence in the future of China-Cambodia relations.