2006年VOA标准英语-US Pacific Commander Visits Cambodia

By Al Pessin
Siem Reap, Cambodia
17 July 2006

The commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific is visiting Cambodia on a get-to-know-you mission, designed to find out what the U.S. military can do to help the country rebuild its armed forces.

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Admiral William Fallon (File photo)   
  
Admiral William Fallon says the U.S. military relationship with Cambodia is in its early stages. But in a VOA interview, he said the relationship could play an important role, as Cambodian leaders continue to work to rebuild their country after the devastation¹ of Khmer Rouge² rule and the years of instability that followed.

"I have had interaction with their military leadership, their defense³ leadership," he said. "Their chief of defense, who I hope to see again, General Ke (Kim Yan), was in Hawaii several months ago, and visited with me, and, frankly⁴, he asked for whatever help we can give them to help them re-establish some kind of a military, to provide security for the country and to help them rebuild themselves."

Admiral Fallon is also visiting other southeast Asian countries in an effort to expand U.S. military relations and promote stability in the region.

"The major purpose of the visit is to be personally acquainted with people that I have only met infrequently, or have not met at all, and to assess for myself just what we can do to help," he explained.

On Friday, in Vietnam, the U.S. Pacific Commander urged senior leaders to expand their military contacts with the United States to include joint⁵ exercises on search and rescue at sea. But in a day-long series of meetings, Vietnamese leaders appeared to be reluctant to do that.

Defense Minister Colonel General Phung Quang Thanh told Admiral Fallon, military relations with the United States is a very sensitive issue in Vietnam, and with some other countries, an apparent reference to China. Vietnamese leaders want to increase the number of meetings their senior military officers have with their American counterparts, but are taking a go-slow approach toward working-level interaction.

Admiral Fallon arrived in Cambodia's tourism capital, Siem Reap, and will meet with senior officials in Phnom Penh on Tuesday.

1 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 rouge   

n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红

参考例句：

• Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂，使脸更漂亮。
• She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮，不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

5 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。