Cambodia and China boost defence ties, expand ‘2+2’ dialogue cooperation

Two countries pledge to deepen their strategic partnership, with Beijing backing Phnom Penh’s military modernisation efforts and both sides standing against ‘unilateral bullying and power politics’, at the culmination of the inaugural dialogue between the two nations’ foreign affairs and defence ministers.

Cambodia and China have strengthened their strategic partnership following the inaugural “2+2” dialogue between their foreign and defence ministers in Phnom Penh, with Beijing backing Cambodia’s modernisation of maritime, land, and air defence.

They jointly opposed “unilateral bullying and power politics”, pledging deeper cooperation across political, security, and economic sectors.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Defence Minister Dong Jun yesterday concluded their two-day official visit to Cambodia after co-chairing the first “2+2” Strategic Dialogue Mechanism with their Cambodian counterparts.

The two visiting ministers met Prime Minister Hun Manet at the Peace Palace on Wednesday, followed by a courtesy call on Senate President Hun Sen, the Acting Head of State, at the Solidarity Palace yesterday.

According to a statement on the talks released yesterday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the meeting marked “a significant milestone in Cambodia-China relations” and underscored a shared commitment to advancing an “all-weather Cambodia-China community with a shared future in the new era”.

The dialogue was co-chaired by Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Prak Sokhonn and National Defence Minister General Tea Seiha. The talks centred on bilateral relations, political and defence-security cooperation, and regional and international developments, reaching broad consensus.

Both sides expressed satisfaction with the progress of the Cambodia-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, noting it continues to advance with “clarity, direction, and ambition”, while demonstrating “increasing resilience and maturity”.

The two countries reaffirmed their “ironclad friendship”, grounded in mutual respect, trust, and support for each other’s core interests, with Cambodia reiterating its support for China’s Belt and Road Initiative and other global initiatives.

The meeting highlighted shared views on political, security, economic, regional and international issues, with both sides emphasising the importance of maintaining high-level exchanges and strengthening coordination among ministries and institutions.

The statement noted that the “2+2” mechanism would serve as a key platform to deepen strategic communication and policy coordination, with both countries agreeing to expand it into a “3+3” format by including their respective interior and public security ministries.

Looking ahead, Cambodia and China agreed to expand cooperation in digital transformation, green development, blue economy, connectivity, resilient supply chains, financial cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges.

Both sides reiterated their commitment to key frameworks, including the Diamond Cooperation Framework, the Industrial and Technological Corridor, and the Fish and Rice Corridor, aimed at delivering benefits to both nations.

Separately, Sokhonn held talks with Wang yesterday after the dialogue, where both sides agreed to further strengthen political trust and expand cooperation in defence, security, trade, investment, infrastructure and agriculture.

Discussions also covered joint efforts to combat online scams, enhance people-to-people ties, and exchange views on regional and international issues, including adherence to international law and border matters involving Cambodia and Thailand.

Both countries reiterated their determination to further advance their comprehensive strategic partnership, contributing to peace, stability and development in the region and beyond.

Chinese state media yesterday reported Wang’s statement that China is ready to work with Cambodia to develop the mechanism into a strategic platform for enhancing political and defence-security cooperation, serving as a key instrument to strengthen mutual assistance and solidarity, and contributing to the building of a China-Cambodia community with a shared future.

He noted that Beijing supports Cambodia and Thailand in implementing the consensus reached at the China-Cambodia-Thailand Fuxian meeting to resolve the border dispute between the two nations, making effective use of existing bilateral mechanisms, strengthening dialogue, rebuilding mutual trust and improving relations.

China is also willing to provide platforms to facilitate more comprehensive and effective communication between Cambodia and Thailand, he added.

Wang said China would continue supporting Cambodia’s development and efforts to improve people’s livelihoods, including providing humanitarian assistance for the resettlement of border communities and advancing poverty reduction demonstration projects.

He added that China is prepared to deepen cooperation with Cambodia under the framework of the four major global initiatives it has proposed, promote an Asian security model based on shared security, mutual respect and dialogue, and support a more just and equitable global governance system.

During the meeting, Dong said China is willing to work with Cambodia to further deepen mutual trust in military and security cooperation. For his part, Sokhonn described China as Cambodia’s most trusted friend and expressed appreciation for its comprehensive support.

He reiterated Cambodia’s firm adherence to the One-China principle and its support for China’s efforts to achieve national reunification. Gen Seiha said Cambodia is ready to explore new avenues for cooperation to further advance bilateral relations.

Both sides agreed to strengthen law enforcement and defence cooperation, jointly combat online gambling and telecom fraud, and enhance cybersecurity. They also underscored the importance of resolving regional disputes through dialogue and negotiation, opposing unilateralism and power politics, and upholding free trade as well as international fairness and justice.

The Ministry of National Defence said the presence of Wang and Admiral Dong in Phnom Penh underscored the importance both sides attach to high-level strategic communication and mutual trust.

The ministry said the meeting strengthened Cambodia-China ties as comprehensive strategic partners and “ironclad friends”, while supporting efforts to build a Cambodia-China community with a shared future in the new era.

Cambodia reaffirmed its commitment to expanding cooperation with China across all sectors and reiterated its adherence to the One-China principle.

During the talks, the Chinese side expressed support for Cambodia’s military sector by advancing cooperation and modernisation efforts to enhance the country’s national defence capabilities, including in maritime, land and air domains.

Analysts said the Cambodia-China “2+2” strategic dialogue is deepening bilateral ties, particularly in political, security and defence cooperation. They added that the mechanism reflects mutual trust and signals the intention of both countries to institutionalise regular strategic coordination.

During their meeting with Mr Hun Manet on Tuesday, Wang and Admiral Dong thanked Cambodia for the warm welcome and conveyed greetings from Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang.

Wang praised Cambodia’s rapid and dynamic development, congratulating the prime minister on leading the country to progress across multiple sectors. He highlighted the longstanding friendship between the two nations.

He said the launch of the “2+2” Strategic Dialogue reflects the consensus of the two countries’ leaders to promote development, improve people’s livelihoods and deepen bilateral cooperation.

In response, Mr Hun Manet welcomed the Chinese delegation and sent his regards to Xi and Li. He also congratulated China on its achievements and expressed appreciation for China’s continued care and medical support for King Norodom Sihamoni and Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk during their stay in Beijing.

Mr Hun Manet praised the steady growth of bilateral ties, describing China as Cambodia’s comprehensive strategic partner and “ironclad friend”. He reiterated Cambodia’s commitment to strengthening cooperation across all sectors and reaffirmed the country’s unwavering adherence to the One China policy.

He thanked the Chinese government and people for their contributions to Cambodia’s socio-economic development and efforts to improve the livelihoods of Cambodian citizens.

Both sides discussed expanding cooperation in priority areas, including politics, the economy, trade and investment, defence and security, clean energy, transport infrastructure and agriculture.

They also exchanged views on enhancing collaboration in regional and international frameworks.

During the talks, Mr Hun Manet briefed the Chinese side on recent developments along the Cambodia-Thailand border and reaffirmed Cambodia’s position that border issues should be resolved peacefully, based on international law and in accordance with existing bilateral treaties, conventions and agreements between the two countries.

During his meeting with Wang yesterday, Acting Head of State Hun Sen reaffirmed Cambodia’s enduring and unchangeable relations with China, according to Chea Thyrith, spokesman for the Senate.

Mr Hun Sen warmly welcomed Wang, describing him as a long-standing friend of Cambodia with whom he has worked closely for many years. He noted that the visit and the inaugural “2+2” Strategic Dialogue clearly demonstrated the strong and close friendship between Cambodia and China.

“Acting Head of State emphasised that no matter how the world changes, the friendly relations between Cambodia and China remain unchanged,” Thyrith said.

For his part, Wang expressed his pleasure at meeting Mr Hun Sen again and conveyed greetings from Chinese President Xi Jinping.

He also expressed China’s concern for the health of King Sihamoni, stressing that the Chinese government attaches great importance to the King’s well-being.

Wang also praised Mr Hun Sen as a key figure in strengthening Cambodia-China friendship.

He said the “iron-clad” friendship between the two countries has been built through the efforts of Mr Hun Sen and continues to grow under the leadership of Mr Hun Manet.

Source: KhmerTimes