Blinken says U.S. wants ‘strong, positive’ ties with China ally Cambodia

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday told Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen that Washington wanted a “strong, positive relationship” between their two countries.

The United States and Cambodia have had a frosty relationship in recent years, with Washington fiercely critical of Hun Sen’s ongoing crackdown on his political opposition and increasingly wary of his increasing engagement with China’s military.

(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Ed Davies)