Government Looks To Build Reserve Military Force

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Monday, 02 August 2010

“The Ministry of Defense will train the reservists on fighting tactics and defense tactics as a base.”

The Council of Ministers passed a decree Friday that would begin to create a reserve force, despite previous government policy to reduce military spending.

Friday's decree would draw a reservist force from early resignations, soldiers who have completed their enlistments or even “experts” who have ben involved in military tasks.

The broadening of the military comes at a time of increasing countrywide nationalism that has been spurred by on ongoing border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand. The decree also follows a 2006 law that provides for military conscription.

“The Ministry of Defense will train the reservists on fighting tactics and defense tactics as a base,” Thum Sotheat, a three-star general and a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, told VOA Khmer.

The training could also include specialties, such as engineering, construction or medical work, he said.

Cambodia prepares reserve soldiers

August 02, 2010
Xinhua

Cambodia is preparing to have reserve soldiers in a move to reform and perform better military affairs, a military official said Monday.

Gen. Chhum Socheat, spokesman of Cambodia's Ministry of National Defense said the draft decree on recruiting reserve soldiers was approved by the Council of Ministers last Friday and is now awaiting final approval by His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni.

He said the reserve soldiers are practiced in many other countries around the world and it has nothing related to the border conflict with Thailand.

Chhum Socheat said the main purpose of having reserve soldiers is to apply to military reform and to better perform in military affairs for a long-time vision, and that has nothing behind the border conflict with Thailand.

He said the reserve military will include those contracted soldiers, professional retired soldiers or those who retired from the military before retiring age.

According to the decree, the reserve soldiers will serve five years and if necessary, will extend two more years.

Cambodia adopted the conscription law in 2006 which requires all Cambodian citizens aged 18 to 30 years to enter a compulsory military service.

Cambodian Defence Ministry to introduce military conscription soon

Monday, 2 August 2010
By Khmerization
Source: Yun Samean, Radio Free Asia

A senior Cambodian Defence Ministry official said on 1st August that the ministry is poised to introduce a military conscription soon after the military reservist conscription sub-decree was signed by the king , reports Radio Free Asia.

Gen. Chhum Socheat, spokesman for the Defence Ministry, said the conscription is necessary to prepare the military force for the defence of the country. He said the conscription will start as soon as the sub-decree was signed by King Sihamoni.

He said the military reserve conscription will include recalling of contracted soldiers, professional retired soldiers or those who retired from the military before retiring age. The new conscripts will be required to perform military duties between 3 to 4 months.

Gen. Chhum Socheat said there is no decision of how many reservists will be conscripted or recruited, saying it all depends on the budget approved by the parliament.

He said the military reserves are established in accordance with article 5 of the Military Duty Act which requires that all Cambodian citizens aged 18 to 30 years to enter a compulsory military service. Gen. Chhum Socheat said the ministry will not fully implement the Military Duty Act yet, saying that the recruitment will be based on voluntary basis at this stage because the Defence Ministry did not have enough budget yet.

Mr. Cheam Yeap, chairman of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, said despite the government planning to increase the national budget, the government did not yet have any plan to increase defence budget. He said the 2010 national defence budget will be $500 million. And because the government wants to reduce military expenditures, the government had introduced the controversial Army-Business Partnership Scheme which would allow private businesses to fund certain military units. Mr. Cheam Yeap said Cambodia must prepare itself for war to defence its territory, but it does not means that Cambodia wants to cause a war with any nation.

Gen. Chhum Socheat said the new conscription is not done in response to the current border dispute with Thailand, saying that Cambodia currently has enough troops to defend the nation.

There is a military imbalance between Cambodia and Thailand. According to the U.S Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) website, Cambodia has only 6 million military age population, while Thailand has 35 million military age population.

Mr. Yim Sovan, spokesman for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, said military reservists must be recruited based on a voluntary basis rather than a forced conscription. He said he is concerned that there will be corruption in the conscription process whereby only poor people will be conscripted while the rich and the powerful will be exempted.

Ranariddh thanks Hun Sen

Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Prince Norodom Ranariddh, who is currently in self-exile overseas, thanks Prime minister Hun Sen for declaring that he does not have any plan to allow foreigners to have the rights to own land in Cambodia. In a speech given to his supporters (over the phone) in Kandal province last week, the prince said that he kept on raising again and again the issue of allowing foreigners the right to own land, but now that Hun Sen declared in Kampong Speu that he never think of, nor even dream of allowing foreigners to own land in Cambodia, therefore, the prince thanks Hun Sen for rejecting this idea. At the same time, the prince also thanks Tea Banh, the vice-prime minister and minister of defense, who declared that the army drafting is set aside for now. The prince said that he raised the issue of Heng Samrin’s National Assembly drafting a law forcing people to serve in the army on many occasions, but now Tea Banh has decided to set this law aside.