The top US military commander in the Pacific, Admiral William Fallon, visited Phnom

Penh on a mission symbolizing the end of almost a decade of cool relations between

the Cambodian and US armed forces.

Military relations cooled after Prime Minister Hun Sen's 1997 coup, Fallon told a

press conference July 18.

The visit had "little or nothing" to do with either China or the sale and

supply of military hardware, and the US did not seek to establish a strong military

presence, Fallon said.

But strengthening Cambodia's military would help the both overall stability in the

region and the US "War on Terror."