Royal Armed Forces of Cambodia

Royal Armed Forces of Cambodia Royal Cambodian Armed Forces កងទ័ព យុទ្ធ ពល ខេ ឞ រ ភូមិន្ទ Kangyuthipol Khemarak Phumin Forces armées royales cambodgiennes
guide
Commander in Chief :	King , currently Norodom Sihamoni
Defense Minister:	General Tea Banh
Headquarters:	Jok Dimitrov Boulevard, Khan 7 Makara, Phnom Penh
Military strength
Active soldiers:	125,000
Reservists:	200,000
Conscription:	Yes
Eligibility for military service:	(16–) 18
Share of gross domestic product :	approx. 2.0%
history
Founding:	1953
Factual foundation:	1993

The Royal Armed Forces of Cambodia (French: Forces armées royales cambodgiennes , English Royal Cambodian Armed Forces , Khmer : កងទ័ព យុទ្ធ ពល ខេ ឞ រ ភូមិន្ទ km , Kangtorp Yuthipol Khemarak Phumin ) (RCAF) are the armed forces of the Kingdom of Cambodia .

organization

The Royal Armed Forces of Cambodia are composed of the following branches :

• Army ( Royal Cambodian Army )
• Navy ( Royal Cambodian Navy ) and
• Air Force ( Royal Cambodian Air Force )

There is also the paramilitary Royal Gendarmerie of Cambodia (Khmer: កងរាជអាវុធហត្ថ). The Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces is the Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni . Secretary of Defense is General Tea Banh.

The country is divided into 5 military regions:

• Region I: Stung Treng
• Region II: Kampong Cham
• Region III: Kampong Speu
• Region IV: Siem Reap
• Region V: Battambang

The headquarters are at Khan 7 Makara, Phnom Penh .

The armed forces had a total strength of 125,000 men in 2014, with up to 40,000 men planned for the Royal Gendarmerie , which also functions as the military police . The defense budget is 383 million (2016) US dollars , which is about 2.0% of Cambodia's gross domestic product . Since 2006 there has been a general conscription of 18 months for people between 18 and 30 years of age.

history

The Royal Armed Forces of Cambodia were founded by King Norodom Sihanouk in 1953 as Forces armées royales khmères (FARK). The French had to recognize the independence of Cambodia at the Geneva Indochina Conference in 1954 . Lon Nol , who had been Prime Minister since 1969, became president in 1972 and proclaimed the Khmer Republic . South Vietnamese and American troops now the government forces supported in the country ( Forces armées national khmères ; FANK) fighting the Khmer Rouge , the Viet Minh and the North Vietnamese People's Army (NVA). In 1975, the Khmer Rouge finally conquered Phnom Penh , whereupon they proclaimed the Democratic Kampuchea . At the end of 1978 an offensive by Vietnamese troops began to end the terror regime of the Khmer Rouge. They conquered Phnom Penh on January 7, 1979. The Khmer Rouge withdrew to northwestern Cambodia and started a new guerrilla war. The People's Republic of Kampuchea was proclaimed under the "United Front for the National Salvation of Cambodia" headed by Heng Samrin . In 1991 the four parties to the civil war signed the Paris Peace Treaty, which stipulated a ceasefire and scheduled new elections for 1993. After the elections, a new constitution came into force, which established a constitutional monarchy with a democratic multi-party system and a market economy as the state system . The armed forces were renamed the Royal Armed Forces of Cambodia again. In 1997 tensions between the First and Second Prime Ministers, Prince Norodom Ranariddh and Hun Sen , culminated in open armed conflict. The army had split and the troops each supported one of the two parties. Finally, Hun Sen emerged victorious.

equipment

In 2006, the Royal Armed Forces of Cambodia had the following equipment, mainly of Soviet and Chinese origin. Cambodia is modernizing its armed forces mainly in cooperation with China

Royal Cambodian Army

• Soldiers: 75,000
• Main battle tanks ( T-54 , T-55 ): 150
• Transport tanks ( BRDM-2 / BTR-70 ): 190

Royal Cambodian Air Force

• Soldiers: 2,000
• Combat aircraft ( MiG-21 ): 15, not operational
• Transport aircraft : 7

Royal Cambodian Navy

• Soldiers including marine infantry : 3,000
• Speed ​​boats : 4

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Jon Grevatt: Cambodia announces 17% increase in 2016 defense budget . Retrieved December 3, 2015.
2. ↑ CIA World Factbook . Retrieved December 13, 2015
3. ↑ globaldefence.net: Armed Forces of the World - Cambodia , as of 2006. Accessed December 23, 2015

Web links

Commons : Cambodian Army  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files