The US commerce department has formally lifted its arms embargo on Cambodia at the request of  secretary of state Marco Rubio.

A final ruling issued by the department’s Bureau of Industry and Security ( BIS ) says the change to export administration regulations means that “Cambodia is no longer a Country Group D:5 country” ( identified by the State Department as subject to US arms embargoes ).

The ruling, dated February 3, notes that the White House announced Cambodia’s removal on October 26 last year — when President Donald Trump oversaw the signing of a joint statement by the Cambodian and Thai prime ministers in Kuala Lumpur after a week of border clashes in July.

The State Department announced a review the next day, leading to secretary Rubio’s decision on November 7 to lift the embargo “based on Cambodia’s diligent pursuit of peace and security, including through renewed engagement with the United States on defence cooperation and combating transnational crime”.

The final ruling, according to the BIS, “will avoid confusion on the part of exporters, re-exporters and transferors” and “will result in a more permissive licence review policy for Cambodia”.

Cambodia’s state-owned news agency, Agence Kampuchea Presse, welcomed the move as “a significant development” in Cambodia-US relations, “especially in the areas of defence, trade and regulatory cooperation”.

Although it is no longer a “D:5” country, the BIS says, Cambodia retains its “D:1” designation related to military intelligence.

The United States imposed the arms embargo on Cambodia five years ago, citing China’s refurbishment of its Ream navy base. Foreign navies, including from India, Japan, the United States and Vietnam, have since called at Ream.