In the past few years, U.S. policy toward the Kingdom of Cambodia has broadened from a human rights focus to a multi-faceted approach. A key challenge for U.S. policy toward Cambodia lies in combining and balancing efforts to improve relations and to promote human rights in the kingdom. During the past decade, Cambodia has made progress in some areas of U.S. interest and concern, including the development of civil society, improvements in the conduct of elections, labor rights, counterterrorism, HIV/AIDS prevention, and bringing Khmer Rouge leaders to justice. However, government abuses of power and violations of human rights remain serious problems. Political violence and corruption also continue to mar democracy and governance in the kingdom. The return to relative political stability in Cambodia in 2006 after parliamentary crises during the 2003-05 period ushered in a movement toward deeper U.S.-Cambodia ties. This trend also has been driven by U.S. interests in cooperating with Cambodia on counterterrorism efforts and responding to China's growing economic influence in the region and in Burma, Laos, and Cambodia in particular. The U.S. government opened a new embassy in the capital, Phnom Penh, in 2006. In 2007, the U.S. government lifted a ten-year ban on direct bilateral aid to Cambodia and two U.S. Navy ships made port calls in the kingdom, the first naval visits in 30 years. Possible areas for greater U.S. involvement and assistance in Cambodia include trade, infrastructure development, and environmental protection. Some U.S. lawmakers argue that economic support for Cambodia should remain restricted until Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian government have established a record of respect for political freedoms and civil liberties and have reduced corruption. Other policy experts argue that greater U.S. engagement with Cambodia through foreign aid, enhanced trade, and diplomacy would better help to achieve U.S. goals and counter any adverse economic and political influence of China. Another policy option is to establish a dialogue with China and other major Southeast Asian countries on how to best promote development and security in Cambodia and the region. Cambodia is the fourth largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid in Southeast Asia after Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The United States is the largest overseas market for Cambodian goods, mostly apparel items. The Cambodian government has urged the U.S. government to grant its garment exports preferential treatment so that it can better compete with larger economies such as China. The Cambodian government also has requested that a portion of payments on the $339 million debt owed to the United States, incurred during the 1970s, be used to pay for development programs in Cambodia. The Kingdom of Cambodia received its independence from France in 1953 under the leadership of the popular king, Norodom Sihanouk. In 1955, Sihanouk abdicated in favor of his father, and assumed the post of Prime Minister and head of the ruling party. When his father died in 1960, Sihanouk received the title of Prince. In 1965, Prince Sihanouk broke off diplomatic relations with the United States in response to U.S. and South-Vietnamese military incursions into the kingdom and growing U.S. influence in the Cambodian armed forces. Diplomatic relations were restored in 1969. Beginning in 1969, the United States conducted a four-year, sustained, large scale bombing campaign in Cambodia aimed at North Vietnamese troops in the country. According to some historians, the American bombing helped the Cambodian communists to gain followers and recruit soldiers. In March 1970, the military forces of pro-American General Lon Nol overthrew the government of Prince Sihanouk in a coup. The Prince fled to Beijing and reluctantly formed an alliance with the Cambodian communists against the Lon Nol government. A civil war followed, culminating in the defeat of Lon Nol in April 1975 by the Communist Party of Kampuchea (also known as the Khmer Rouge). The Prince returned to Phnom Penh from Beijing only to be placed under house arrest. During the Khmer Rouge's brutal three-year reign – which included forced depopulation of the cities and the establishment of rural communes – nearly two million out of a population of eight million Cambodians died from execution, torture, overwork, starvation, and disease. Urban Cambodians with wealth and education were particularly targeted. In January 1979, an invasion by Vietnamese forces drove the Khmer Rouge from Phnom Penh. Sihanouk then sought refuge in China and North Korea. A 13-year civil war ensued, in which Khmer Rouge, Cambodian nationalist (KPNLF), and royalist (ANS) insurgents fought the Vietnamese-backed regime. Following the Vietnamese withdrawal from Cambodia in 1989, a United Nations (U.N.)-brokered peace settlement officially ended the war in October 1991 and led to elections for a 120-seat Constituent Assembly in May 1993. Prince Sihanouk returned to Cambodia as king. Although the royalist FUNCINPEC Party (National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia) won a 58-seat plurality, it agreed to form a coalition government with the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), with 51 seats, after the CPP threatened that it would not accept the election. The establishment of the coalition government with Prince Norodom Ranariddh, head of FUNCINPEC, and Hun Sen, head of the CPP, as co-prime ministers brought fragile political stability to Cambodia. The United States Congress passed several measures supporting non-communist resistance forces and humanitarian assistance in Cambodia and prohibiting assistance for the Khmer Rouge. In 1997, after rising tensions between the coalition partners, Hun Sen staged an armed takeover of the government. An estimated 80-100 Cambodians, including many FUNCINPEC leaders, were killed, and Prince Ranariddh and other politicians fled Cambodia. In the face of considerable international pressure and the withholding of foreign aid, Hun Sen allowed Prince Ranariddh to return and held new parliamentary elections in July 1998, which the CPP narrowly won. Despite charges of election irregularities and post-election violence, the two parties again agreed to form a coalition government, with Hun Sen as Prime Minister and Prince Ranariddh as President of the National Assembly. The 105 th Congress terminated bilateral or government-to-government assistance, which was not fully restored until 2007, and passed resolutions condemning a grenade attack in March 1997 on opposition leader Sam Rainsy and his supporters ( S.Res. 69 ) and calling for free and fair elections in Cambodia ( H.Res. 361 ). In the past several years, voting institutions have strengthened while an active civil society and varied press have developed in Cambodia with foreign support. However, many problems related to political, civil, and property rights remain, including extrajudicial killings, government interference in the judiciary, defamation laws that restrict freedom of speech, and expropriation of land without proper compensation. Corruption pervades Cambodian society and government. Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index 2008 (degree of corruption) ranked Cambodia 166 out of 180 countries. The Cambodian People's Party under the leadership of Hun Sen has gained strength through a combination of electoral victories, legal, extra-legal, and political maneuvers, intimidation, patronage, and influence over the broadcast media. FUNCINPEC, the CPP's former major rival and partner, has fragmented and is no longer an independent political force. Its royalist legacy has lost popular appeal, especially with younger generations. In 2007, two new opposition parties were formed: Prince Ranariddh left FUNCINPEC to form his own party, the Norodom Ranariddh Party (NRP), while former FUNCINPEC Deputy General Secretary and human rights leader Kem Sokha established the Human Rights Party (HRP). The fourth elections to the National Assembly were held in July 2008. Observers reported that the polls were peaceful and relatively free of voting irregularities. The main parties and candidates for Prime Minister were: the CPP (Hun Sen); FUNCINPEC (Norodom Arun Rasmey); SRP (Sam Rainsy); NRP (Norodom Ranariddh); and the HRP (Kem Sokha). The CPP further strengthened its hold on power, winning 90 of 123 seats in the Lower House, thereby allowing it to govern without a coalition partner. FUNCINPEC, with two seats, suffered a dramatic loss of 24 Members. The CPP invited FUNCINPEC as a coalition partner, but the latter has very little real power. The SRP gained two seats (26) and formed an alliance with the HRP with three seats. The Norodom Ranariddh Party (NRP) won only two seats. Many observers as well as opposition parties accused the CPP of vote buying and of taking undue credit for economic development projects that were funded by international donors. Other analysts argue that although many of the CPP's gains have been ill-gotten or given it unfair advantages, the ruling party has garnered genuine popularity based upon the country's economic development, relative political stability, and material improvements achieved under its rule. By large majorities, Cambodians believe that their country is moving in the right direction (82%) and that the 2008 election process treated all parties fairly (75%), according to a survey by the International Republican Institute. However, 52% of these respondents reported having been offered a gift by a political party or candidate during the elections. Many observers considered the July 2003 elections to the National Assembly to be an improvement over previous elections, with relatively minor voting irregularities.