Phnom Penh (FN), Feb. 25 – General Mao Sophan, Deputy Commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) and commander of the Royal Cambodian Army, held a bilateral meeting with General Ronald P. Clark, Commander of the US Army Pacific (USARPAC), on 24 February 2025 at the RCAF headquarters.

Both leaders congratulated each other on the 75th anniversary of Cambodia-US diplomatic relations and welcomed the progress in bilateral ties, particularly in trade, tourism, culture, counterterrorism, peacekeeping, mine clearance, the search for the remains of missing former US servicemen, and military cooperation.

General Mao Sophan expressed appreciation for the US decision to resume training programmes for Cambodian military personnel and its continued support for Cambodia’s mine action sector. He emphasised the importance of defence dialogue in fostering mutual trust and confidence.

He pledged to work closely with General Ronald P. Clark and proposed several cooperative initiatives to promote friendship, constructive partnership, transparency, and mutual benefit.

For his part, General Ronald P. Clark acknowledged the positive developments in military cooperation, citing exchanges of visits, the first US naval ship call in eight years, and strong collaboration in the search for missing US soldiers—a humanitarian effort.

He also outlined the purpose of his visit to further strengthen and expand Cambodia-US military cooperation in general, and between the Royal Cambodian Army Ground Forces and the US Army Pacific in particular.

Both sides also discussed various cooperation activities such as (1) cooperation in mine clearance efforts; (2) joint efforts in the search for missing US military personnel; (3) exchange of expertise; (4) RCA-US Land Force Talk; (5) exploring the possibility of co-chairing and hosting the Indo-Pacific Army Management Seminar (IPAMS); and (6) reorganising the Royal Cambodian Guard Exercise.
=FRESH NEWS