U.S. donates 36 vehicles to Cambodian armed forces

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. donated Thursday 36 M35A2 trucks and 4 trailers to the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF), said a press release from the U.S. Embassy.

U.S. Ambassador Carol Rodley turned over these vehicles to Phann Nguon, secretary of state at the Ministry of National Defense, at his ministry, it said.

The 36 M35A2 cargo trucks were part of an ongoing effort to address RCAF's transportation shortage and represented the second shipment of its kind under Cambodia's Excess Defense Articles grant program, which was funded by U.S., it added.

The vehicles handed over on Thursday were a continuation of the original order made in 2006 and brought the total number of trucks donated to 67, according to the press release.

U.S. security assistance to RCAF focused on the recommendations of a joint defense assessment meeting conducted in October 2006 by RCAF and the U.S. Pacific Command, it said.

Areas noted for improvement were border security, mobility, peacekeeping operations capability, maritime security, and communications, it added.

U.S. has pledged nearly 3.2 million U.S. dollars in assistance to Cambodia since the resumption of military-to-military engagement between the two nations in 2006, according to the press release.　

Editor: Fang Yang