Cambodia to Begin Military Conscription Amid Thai Border Dispute, PM Says
Cambodian soldiers take part in a parade during the inauguration of the National Gendarmerie Training Center in Kampong Chhnang province, Cambodia, July 14, 2025 | Credit: Facebook/Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet, Prime Minister of Cambodia
In an article published by The Diplomat, Sebastian Strangio discusses how Hun Manet has announced plans to begin enforcing a military conscription law that was passed in 2006.
Cambodia will begin military conscription next year, Prime Minister Hun Manet announced yesterday, as part of an effort to fortify the country’s defenses in the context of the current border dispute with Thailand.
Speaking at a ceremony at the Royal Gendarmerie Training Center in central Kampong Chhnang province, the Cambodian leader said that he had agreed in principle to activate the dormant Law on Compulsory Military Service, which was passed in 2006 but has never been enforced.
The law requires all Cambodian men between the ages of 18 and 30 to serve in the military for 18 months. (Service by women is optional.)
If approved, Cambodia would become the sixth Southeast Asian nation, after Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar, to maintain compulsory military service – although the terms and exemptions differ widely between these nations.
