Latest news with #bordertensions
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Cambodia will start military conscription next year as tensions with Thailand persist
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet said Monday that his country will implement military conscription starting next year, in an announcement that coincides with persistent border tensions with Thailand. Relations between the neighbors have deteriorated sharply following an armed confrontation on May 28 in which one Cambodian soldier was killed in one of several small contested patches of land. The sides have agreed to de-escalate their dispute to avoid further clashes, but continue to implement or threaten measures that have kept tensions high, alongside exchanging sharp words. The dispute has also roiled Thailand's domestic politics. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended from office after making what critics saw as a disparaging comment about her country's military in a phone call to Cambodia's former Prime Minister Hun Sen, who leaked a recording of it. Hun Manet, Hun Sen's son and successor, said that starting in 2026, an existing law on conscription would be implemented to fill shortages and upgrade the military's capabilities. 'This is our commitment,' Hun Manet said in a speech to military forces in the northern province of Kampong Chhnang. He wore his military uniform displaying his rank of a four-star general. Hun Manet said that soldiers joining the ranks through conscription were more effective than a voluntary force and at least as professional. The conscription law was passed in 2006, but never activated. Cambodians of both sexes, aged 18 to 30, must serve but for women, service is voluntary. Thailand has long implemented conscription for men reaching 20 years of age, with an annual lottery determining who among them is called up. The CIA's World Factbook estimates Cambodia's armed forces total 200,000 personnel, including a large force of military police. It says Thailand has 350,000 active-duty personnel in its armed forces. Hun Manet also called for increasing the military budget. Cambodia is one of the region's poorer countries, with a $9.32 billion national budget for 2025, out of which the biggest share, $739 million, went for defense. He also repeated calls for Thailand to reopen without conditions all border crossings it had closed, saying that Cambodia would reciprocate within hours.
Associated Press
6 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Cambodia will start military conscription next year as tensions with Thailand persist
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet said Monday that his country will implement military conscription starting next year, in an announcement that coincides with persistent border tensions with Thailand. Relations between the neighbors have deteriorated sharply following an armed confrontation on May 28 in which one Cambodian soldier was killed in one of several small contested patches of land. The sides have agreed to de-escalate their dispute to avoid further clashes, but continue to implement or threaten measures that have kept tensions high, alongside exchanging sharp words. The dispute has also roiled Thailand's domestic politics. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended from office after making what critics saw as a disparaging comment about her country's military in a phone call to Cambodia's former Prime Minister Hun Sen, who leaked a recording of it. Hun Manet, Hun Sen's son and successor, said that starting in 2026, an existing law on conscription would be implemented to fill shortages and upgrade the military's capabilities. 'This is our commitment,' Hun Manet said in a speech to military forces in the northern province of Kampong Chhnang. He wore his military uniform displaying his rank of a four-star general. Hun Manet said that soldiers joining the ranks through conscription were more effective than a voluntary force and at least as professional. The conscription law was passed in 2006, but never activated. Cambodians of both sexes, aged 18 to 30, must serve but for women, service is voluntary. Thailand has long implemented conscription for men reaching 20 years of age, with an annual lottery determining how many are called up. The CIA's World Factbook estimates Cambodia's armed forces total 200,000 personnel, including a large force of military police. It says Thailand has 350,000 active-duty personnel in its armed forces. Hun Manet also called for increasing the military budget. Cambodia is one of the region's poorer countries, with a $9.32 billion national budget for 2025, out of which the biggest share, $739 million, went for defense. He also repeated calls for Thailand to reopen without conditions all border crossings it had closed, saying that Cambodia would reciprocate within hours.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
India, Pakistan exchange fire overnight in disputed Kashmir region
Indian and Pakistani forces have again engaged in exchanges of fire on their heavily guarded border. The Indian military on Friday accused Pakistan of launching "multiple attacks using drones and other munitions along entire Western Border." The drones were "effectively repulsed," the army wrote on X, saying it gave a "befitting reply" to the attacks. Islamabad has not commented on the latest incidents. Media reports in India said that at least one woman was killed and four other civilians were injured by artillery fire late on Thursday in the Indian-administered part of the disputed Kashmir region. This would bring the number of civilian deaths on the Indian side since Wednesday to 17. India said Pakistan carried out air strikes on Indian-administered Kashmir and in the state of Punjab on Thursday evening, causing no casualties. Pakistan rejected the accusations. The information could not initially be independently verified. The alarming escalation in tensions between the two nuclear powers was triggered by a terrorist attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in April which killed 26 people, mainly Indian tourists. New Delhi accuses Islamabad of involvement in the attack. Pakistan denies involvement and has called for an independent investigation. Pakistan and India each control parts of Kashmir, but both claim the entire Kashmir Valley for themselves.
