A port call by the United States Navy vessel USS Cincinnati at Cambodia’s renovated Ream Naval Base in January 2026 reaffirmed defense relations between Phnom Penh and Washington, with both nations calling for exchanges that include frequent visits and resumption of the bilateral Angkor Sentinel military exercise.
The U.S. warship’s five-day stay at the Sokhemra facility demonstrated the growing relationship. The port’s expansion, completed in April 2025 and largely financed by China, raised concern that the project would provide Phnom Penh partner Beijing with its own naval facility on the Gulf of Thailand. Cambodian leaders reiterated that the facility would be open to all nations.
“All along the way, our Cambodian friends assured us that Ream would be a sovereign port,” said Adm. Samuel J. Paparo, Commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Paparo, who arrived aboard the USS Cincinnati, called the stopover at Cambodia’s invitation “a good faith expression of our partnership moving forward.”
The visit included talks among the nations’ military leaders aboard the docked U.S. littoral combat ship and a meeting at Phnom Penh’s Peace Palace, where Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet spoke with Paparo of the countries’ “excellent military cooperation.”
Manet pledged to peacefully resolve disputes with neighboring Thailand, where international efforts were needed to address recent border confrontations. He thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for promoting a ceasefire in late 2025.
Manet and Paparo spoke of the countries’ mutual respect and relationship based on 76 years of friendship. Manet called the USS Cincinnati’s visit a “tangible result” of improving bilateral relations and expressed confidence they would keep growing.
Paparo also held talks in Phnom Pehn with Cambodian Defense Minister Gen. Tea Seiha on strengthening cooperation between the nations’ forces.
Cambodia and the U.S. agreed to restart the annual Angkor Sentinel exercise, last held in 2017. Officials said the drills, which have focused on peacekeeping operations along with humanitarian assistance and disaster response, could take place in late 2026 or early 2027.
The Ream Naval Base renovation includes a 300-meter pier, a dry dock and a ship launch/retrieval ramp, The Diplomat magazine reported.
The visit by the USS Cincinnati and its crew of about 100 marked the first U.S. port call at the upgraded facility, and the first U.S. Navy deployment to Cambodia since the USS Savannah stopped at Sihanoukville in December 2024.
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