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Royal Cambodian Armed Forces

Combined military forces of Cambodia


Summary

Combined military forces of Cambodia

FieldValue
nameRoyal Cambodian Armed Forces
native_nameកងយោធពលខេមរភូមិន្ទ
image[[File:Emblem of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces.svg100px]]
altEmblem of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces
captionEmblem of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces
image2Flag of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces.svg
alt2Flag of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces
caption2Flag of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces
mottoជាតិ សាសនា ព្រះមហាក្សត្រ
()
founded
current_form
branches
headquartersMinistry of National Defence, Georgi Dimitrov Blvd, Phnom Penh 12156
website
<!-- Leadership -->commander-in-chiefRoyal Standard of the King of Cambodia.svg King Norodom Sihamoni
commander-in-chief_titleSupreme Commander of the Armed Forces
chief ministerSeal of the Cabinet of Cambodia.svg Hun Manet
chief minister_titlePrime Minister
ministerEmblem of the Ministry of National Defense (Cambodia).svg General Tea Seiha
minister_titleMinister of National Defence
commanderEmblem of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces.svg General Vong Pisen
commander_titleCommander-in-Chief
<!-- Manpower -->active124,300
deployed
amount៛ 2.903 trillion
$739 million (2025)
percent_GDP1.47% of GDP
foreign_suppliersChina
Czech Republic
Hungary
Indonesia
Israel
Germany
Japan
Poland
Russia
South Korea
Sweden
Vietnam
United States
exports
historyMilitary history of Cambodia
ranksMilitary ranks of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces

() | commander-in-chief = Royal Standard of the King of Cambodia.svg King Norodom Sihamoni | commander-in-chief_title = Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces $739 million (2025) Czech Republic Hungary Indonesia Israel Germany Japan Poland Russia South Korea Sweden Vietnam United States

The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF; ) is Cambodia's national military force. The Supreme Commander-in-Chief is King Norodom Sihamoni. Since 2018, General Vong Pisen has been the Commander-in-Chief of the RCAF as head of the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Gendarmerie. The armed forces operate under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of National Defence. Under the country's constitution, the RCAF is charged with protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

It was created in 1993 by a merger of the Cambodian People's Armed Forces (CPAF) and the National Army of Democratic Kampuchea (NADK) which included the Khmer Rouge, the Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF) and the National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia (Front uni national pour un Cambodge indépendant, neutre, pacifique, et coopératif, FUNCINPEC). The forerunner of the CPAF was the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Armed Forces (KPRAF), established in 1979 with support from the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN).

History

Royal Khmer Armed Forces (FARK)

Main article: Khmer National Armed Forces#History

Khmer National Armed Forces (FANK)

Main article: Khmer National Armed Forces

Revolutionary Army of Kampuchea (RAK)

Main article: Kampuchea Revolutionary Army#History

Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Armed Forces (KPRAF)

Main article: Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Armed Forces#Historical background

Cambodian People's Armed Forces (CPAF)

Main article: Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Armed Forces#Historical background

Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF)

The RCAF was established in 1993 after the democratic election of a government consisting of two prime ministers. The armed forces of all parties except the NADK were integrated into a national armed force.

To resolve security problems, the government began a "Win-Win policy" in mid-1995 of national reconciliation and unity efforts under the Monarchy of Cambodia. Defections of NADK units began in early 1996 up until the death of Pol Pot in 1998.

Branches

The RCAF has four branches: the Royal Cambodian Army, the Royal Cambodian Navy, the Royal Cambodian Air Force and the Royal Gendarmerie of Cambodia.

The Royal Cambodian Army (RCA) is the largest RCAF branch, with troops stationed in each of the country's 25 provinces. The Royal Cambodian Navy (RCN), the second-largest branch and operates in the Gulf of Thailand, along the Mekong and Bassac rivers and in the Tonlé Sap lake. The Royal Cambodian Air Force (RCAF), the smallest service branch with 5,000 members, operates in every province which has an airport. The Royal Gendarmerie is the national gendarmerie force of the Kingdom of Cambodia. It is a branch of the RCAF and it is responsible for the maintenance of public order and internal security. It has a strength of 30,000 members deployed in all provinces.

References

References

  1. "Cambodia and Thailand conflict: How do their militaries compare?".
  2. (14 July 2025). "Cambodia will start military conscription next year as tensions with Thailand persist".
  3. (22 March 2017). "New Commander-in-Chief for RCAF". KHMER TIMES.
  4. (6 September 2018). "Three top military commanders appointed as senior ministers". The Phnom Penh Post.
  5. (2 July 2018). "Hun Manet is now a four-star General". The Phnom Penh Post.
  6. (2 January 2012). "VGP News | National historical relic inaugurated in Đồng Nai – National historical relic inaugurated in Dong Nai".
  7. Ian Ramage, Strong Fighting: Sexual Behavior and HIV/AIDS in the Cambodian Uniformed Services, 2002
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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