US lifts arms embargo on Cambodia after Trump-brokered ceasefire

The United States lifted a defence trade embargo with Cambodia, following President Donald Trump’s facilitation of a ceasefire agreement between Cambodia and neighboring Thailand last week.

The embargo had been imposed in 2021 under Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, citing growing Chinese military influence in Cambodia, as well as concerns over human rights violations and alleged corruption, Reuters reports.

According to a notice in the Federal Register, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio lifted the restrictions in recognition of “Cambodia’s diligent pursuit of peace and security, including through renewed engagement with the United States on defence cooperation and combating transnational crime.” Arms sales will now be authorized on a case-by-case basis.

It remains unclear whether US concerns over Chinese military influence, particularly regarding the expansion of the Ream Naval Base in the contested South China Sea, have been fully addressed. US officials have long raised alarms about the base serving as another outpost for Beijing in the region. The State Department and Cambodia’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The US decision comes shortly after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced, following a meeting with Cambodia’s Minister of National Defence Tea Seiha in Malaysia on November 7, that the two countries had “agreed to restart our premier bilateral military exercise with Cambodia.”

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet also publicly recognized Trump’s role in the ceasefire, stating during the signing ceremony that he had nominated the president for the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in ending border clashes that erupted in July.

Southeast Asia expert Gregory Poling of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington suggested the US move is largely symbolic. “I doubt Cambodia has either the interest or capacity to acquire sophisticated US equipment,” he said. Poling noted that the recent upswing in bilateral ties follows “a well-worn pattern of each US administration seeking some sort of reset with Phnom Penh on the assumption that Cambodian leaders believe they’ve swung too far toward Beijing.”

Poling added that Trump’s administration “was less concerned than previous US administrations about rights, so perhaps this window is more sustainable than previous efforts,” though he emphasized that Cambodia granting the US access to the portion of Ream Naval Base currently under China’s exclusive control will be “the real test of this nascent turnaround in the defense relationship.”

By Vafa Guliyeva