Cambodia to Resume US Joint Military Drills in February 2027

The Royal Cambodian Army said on Monday that it will restart joint military drills with the United States in February 2027, ending a ten‑year hiatus that began in 2017. The program, designated “Exercise Angkor Sentinel,” will involve combined‑arms training for infantry, armor and artillery units, and will be coordinated through the U.S. Pacific Command and Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence. Cambodian officials indicated that the first phase will be a two‑week field exercise conducted at the Ream Naval Base and the Phnom Penh training area, with plans for additional rotations in subsequent years.

Cambodia’s decision to revive the drills arrives against a backdrop of shifting strategic calculations in a region where Beijing’s economic reach and military presence have grown considerably over the past decade. The Royal Cambodian Army, comprising roughly 85,000 soldiers spread across eleven infantry divisions with integrated armor and artillery, has traditionally focused on internal security and border protection. Its partnership with the United States, which dates back to the early 1990s, was suspended after the 2017 Cambodian‑U.S. “military cooperation suspension” that followed a series of diplomatic tensions, including the U.S. imposing visa restrictions on senior Cambodian officials over concerns about democratic backsliding.

The renewed engagement reflects Phnom Penh’s effort to diversify its security relationships and to signal a degree of autonomy in its foreign policy. While Cambodia remains a close economic partner of China—receiving substantial infrastructure investments under the Belt and Road Initiative—its leadership has warned against over‑reliance on any single patron. The Cambodian Ministry of National Defence issued a statement that the exercises would focus on “capacity building, disaster response, and the protection of national sovereignty,” underscoring a desire to enhance professional standards without overtly aligning with any great‑power bloc.

U.S. officials framed the move as part of a broader objective to strengthen regional security cooperation and to support partner militaries in maintaining transparent, interoperable capabilities. A spokesperson for the U.S. Indo‑Pacific Command said that Exercise Angkor Sentinel would be “conducted under the highest standards of safety and respect for Cambodia’s sovereign decision‑making,” and that it would complement existing U.S. engagements with other ASEAN members such as Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. The United States has been keen to reaffirm its commitments in Southeast Asia after a perceived slowdown in its regional presence during the previous administration, and to counterbalance China’s growing military footprint in the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea.

The resumption also carries implications for the broader security architecture of the Indo‑Pacific. Cambodia’s participation could pave the way for greater information‑sharing on maritime domain awareness, counter‑terrorism and humanitarian assistance—areas where the U.S. and its allies have been seeking to build consensus. At the same time, Beijing is likely to monitor the development closely, as it could be interpreted as a subtle shift in Cambodia’s balancing act. Chinese diplomatic circles have previously expressed concern over foreign military activities on Cambodian soil, viewing them as potential encroachments on its strategic interests.

For the wider region, the exercise underscores the fluidity of alliances and the continuing relevance of bilateral defense ties in an era of great‑power competition. By welcoming U.S. forces for joint training, Cambodia signals that its security calculus accommodates multiple partners, which may encourage other ASEAN states to pursue similar diversified engagements. The move also reinforces the United States’ strategy of maintaining a visible, operational presence in Southeast Asia, thereby contributing to a collective deterrence posture that seeks to preserve open sea lanes, protect supply‑chain integrity and uphold the rules‑based order that underpins regional commerce. In a context where energy routes, technology components and maritime trade flow through the waters adjacent to Cambodia, the stability fostered by such exercises can have indirect benefits for neighboring economies, including Taiwan, which relies on the region’s secure logistics corridors for its semiconductor and export sectors.