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Trump ending Cambodia weapons ban slammed as ‘beyond reckless’
A lawmaker said the president has ‘upended US policy towards Cambodia with no regard for US national security or our values’
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The US lifted its arms embargo on Cambodia, the latest sign of Washington’s renewed engagement with the Southeast Asian nation after it backed President Donald Trump’s peace accord with Thailand.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the decision “based on Cambodia’s diligent pursuit of peace and security, including through renewed engagement with the United States on defence cooperation and combating transnational crime”, the State Department said in a notice Thursday.
The announcement comes a week after Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth renewed flagship military exercises with Cambodia after an eight-year halt.
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The warming relations with one of China’s closest partners in Southeast Asia follow Cambodia’s embrace of Trump’s efforts to seal a peace deal with its neighbour Thailand.
An eruption of violence along their border earlier this year ended after the US president threatened to deny them trade deals, showing the multiple ways Trump seeks to leverage tariffs.
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President Joe Biden had imposed the weapons ban in 2021, citing concerns over human rights, corruption and Cambodia’s growing military ties with China. Requests for weapons transfers to Cambodia will be approved “on a case-by-case basis”, the notice added.
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