Army To Make Tailored Military Courses For Cambodia

The Army will make custom courses at its training centres and send a team of trainers to Cambodia, which is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Details about this were released today after Lieutenant General Hun Manet, Commander of the Royal Cambodian Army and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF), met with Indian Army Chief General Manoj Pande along with a delegation.

At the start of the trip, the delegation laid a wreath at the National War Memorial.

The Cambodian General met with Army Chief Pande, who reaffirmed India’s support for Cambodia by offering the Royal Cambodian Air Force (RCAF) customised training modules. Both sides have also said when the first Army-to-Army talks will take place in Cambodia.

“This is the first visit by any Commander of the Royal Cambodian Army, and it is a turning point in relations between the armies of both countries,” the defence ministry said to emphasise how important the visit was.

India and Cambodia’s military ties have grown in recent years and will continue to grow in areas like training, counter-improvised explosive device (IED), demining, and UN peacekeeping. In June 2018 and November 2022, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh went to Cambodia. A bilateral defence cooperation agreement signed by both countries in 2007 sets the rules for how they work together on defence.

The Cambodian General met with Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane, who told the group about the Army Design Bureau and the Indian ecosystem for making defence equipment.

Later, he met with Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, and Deputy National Security Advisor Vikram Misri.

“I’m glad to meet Cambodian Lt. Gen. Hun Manet this afternoon. They talked about the geopolitical situation and regional problems. Agreed that independent countries need to work together closely. “We talked about opportunities in defence and security, connectivity, and digital delivery,” Jaishankar wrote on Twitter.

Cambodia is one of China’s oldest and most important political partners, and high-level officials from both countries visit each other often. Cambodia has also been one of the strongest backers of the “one-China” principle. China is Cambodia’s biggest foreign investor, gives the country the most money, and is becoming a more and more important trading partner. In 2021, China had invested the most money in Cambodia, with a total of $2.32 billion.

Lt. Gen. Hun Manet will go to the Rajputana Rifles Regimental Centre in Delhi Cantt on Saturday. There, he will see Agnivesers being trained and a show of defence equipment made in India. Before he leaves New Delhi, he is also set to meet with Gen. Anil Chauhan, who is the Chief of Defence Staff.