After attending a regional security conference and a separate meeting with General Tea Banh, Cambodia's Defence Minister, Mr Panetta said he wanted to stress the support of the US "for the protection of human rights, of civilian oversight of the military, of respect for the rule of law and for the right of full and fair participation in the political process".
Mr Panetta was in Cambodia as part of the Obama administration's "pivot" to Asia, which seeks to bolster military, economic and diplomatic relationships in the aforementioned region and serve as a counterweight to China's rising influence.
His visit came four days ahead of a trip there by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama, who will be the first sitting American president to visit the country.
Cambodia has long and close ties to China, but US Special Forces are now providing counter-terrorism training to the Cambodian military and the two countries also conduct small-scale joint exercises.
Still, the defence relationship is in the early stages and Mr Panetta's aides said the Pentagon remained wary of stepping up the military relationship with Mr Hun Sen's government.
Mr Panetta announced no major American-Cambodian initiatives - called "deliverables" in the shorthand of government - as a result of his visit. Aides travelling with him said the main accomplishment was the symbolic value of the Defence Secretary's turning up at the regional meeting, a gathering of South-east Asia defence ministers, that previous administrations have ignored.
"The big deliverable in Cambodia is the secretary himself," a senior defence official said.
Mr Panetta did announce additional joint US military exercises next year: A humanitarian and disaster relief exercise hosted by Brunei; a counterterrorism exercise co-sponsored by the US and Indonesia; and a maritime security exercise led by Malaysia and Australia. He also spoke over lunch yesterday with the defence minister of Myanmar, which Mr Obama will visit next week - another first by an American President.
On a stop earlier this week in Perth, Australia, Mr Panetta announced that the Pentagon was moving two surveillance systems to Australia. The systems will allow the US to track space debris as well as satellites, including those of China.
In Bangkok, Mr Panetta signed a new defence cooperation agreement with the Thai government on Thursday, updating an existing one that was signed in 1962. AGENCIES
Source: http://www.todayonline.com/World/EDC121117-0000048/US-reaffirms-military-ties-with-Cambodia
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