thedrifter
02-09-07, 08:44 AM
U.S. warship makes Cambodian port visit
By SOPHENG CHEANG, Associated Press Writer
A U.S. navy warship docked at Cambodia's main seaport Friday, the first port call by an American naval vessel to the Southeast Asian nation in more than three decades.
The USS Gary, a guided missile frigate with 200 officers and crew, was greeted by a team of Cambodian naval officers and U.S. Embassy staff at Sihanoukville, 115 miles southwest of the capital, Phnom Penh.
U.S. Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli said the ship's visit was a sign of the "deepening of the relationship" that "has not always been that good" between the two countries.
"It's been pretty rocky over the last 55 years, but for the last several years we have demonstrated that Cambodia and the United States ... should be friends and work together closely," he said.
During the Vietnam War, the U.S. military heavily bombed suspected communist guerrilla strongholds in Cambodia up until 1974.
Eighteen U.S. soldiers were killed fighting Khmer Rouge forces on Koh Tang, a Cambodian island in the Gulf of Thailand, in May 1975. Marines fought for three hours trying to rescue the captured crew of the U.S. Merchant Marine vessel Mayaguez without knowing they had already been released by the Cambodian communists.
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 prime minister.
But relations have improved recently, with Washington endorsing greater military cooperation.
During his trip to Cambodia in July 2006, Adm. William J. Fallon, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, said the United States could assist in training Cambodian military personnel and provide them with non-lethal aid such as trucks.
Sailors from the USS Gary will spend the weekend taking part in community activities in a village near Sihanoukville, including hosting public health education classes for the villagers, repairing a local clinic and donating toys and clothes to an orphanage, an embassy statement said.
The USS Gary departs Sihanoukville on Tuesday.
Ellie
By SOPHENG CHEANG, Associated Press Writer
A U.S. navy warship docked at Cambodia's main seaport Friday, the first port call by an American naval vessel to the Southeast Asian nation in more than three decades.
The USS Gary, a guided missile frigate with 200 officers and crew, was greeted by a team of Cambodian naval officers and U.S. Embassy staff at Sihanoukville, 115 miles southwest of the capital, Phnom Penh.
U.S. Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli said the ship's visit was a sign of the "deepening of the relationship" that "has not always been that good" between the two countries.
"It's been pretty rocky over the last 55 years, but for the last several years we have demonstrated that Cambodia and the United States ... should be friends and work together closely," he said.
During the Vietnam War, the U.S. military heavily bombed suspected communist guerrilla strongholds in Cambodia up until 1974.
Eighteen U.S. soldiers were killed fighting Khmer Rouge forces on Koh Tang, a Cambodian island in the Gulf of Thailand, in May 1975. Marines fought for three hours trying to rescue the captured crew of the U.S. Merchant Marine vessel Mayaguez without knowing they had already been released by the Cambodian communists.
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 prime minister.
But relations have improved recently, with Washington endorsing greater military cooperation.
During his trip to Cambodia in July 2006, Adm. William J. Fallon, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, said the United States could assist in training Cambodian military personnel and provide them with non-lethal aid such as trucks.
Sailors from the USS Gary will spend the weekend taking part in community activities in a village near Sihanoukville, including hosting public health education classes for the villagers, repairing a local clinic and donating toys and clothes to an orphanage, an embassy statement said.
The USS Gary departs Sihanoukville on Tuesday.
Ellie