U.S. warship to pay port visit to Cambodia for first time in over 30 years

The Associated Press
Wednesday, January 24, 2007

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia

A U.S. navy warship will dock at Cambodia's main sea port next month for the first time in more
than three decades, a high-ranking American military commander said Wednesday.

The USS Gary, a guided missile frigate with 200 officers and crew, will arrive at the Sihanoukville port in southwestern Cambodia on Feb. 9 and will stay until Feb. 13, said Adm. Gary Roughead, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

"The purpose of the visit is to bring our navies closer together," Roughead said after meeting with Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh. "We believe that it marks a beginning of a strong navy-to-navy relationship with many opportunities for the future."

Tea Banh hailed the planned visit by the USS Gary as "a new era" in military ties between the two countries.

The United States halted military assistance to Cambodia following a 1997 coup in which Hun Sen grabbed full power after ousting his co-premier, Prince Norodom Ranariddh. Hun Sen remains as prime minister.

Roughead is the second top U.S. military official to visit Cambodia in the last six months in the latest move to re-establish military links.

During a visit in July, Adm. William J. Fallon, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, said the
United States could help train Cambodian military and provide it with non-lethal assistance.

The two-day visit by Roughead, scheduled to end Thursday, was billed as a familiarization visit. He was appointed to his position in 2005.

According to his US Navy biography, Roughead is responsible for the world's largest combined fleet command, encompassing 102 million square miles and more than 190 ships and submarines, 1,400 aircraft, 191,000 sailors and marines and 30,000 civilians.