ល្បែងថាមពលពហុមុខរបស់កម្ពុជា
The fallout from the five-day war with Thailand has forced Hun Sen into a multi-front game, courting the US while keeping close ties with China and Vietnam.
On the morning of August 23, 2025, Hun Sen posted on Facebook noting that the previous day marked two years since he resigned as Cambodia’s prime minister and handed power to his son, Hun Manet. He wrote that “two years is enough time to understand the leadership and governance of the new generation.”
By “new generation,” Hun Sen was clearly referring to members of his own family and close allies within the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). In reality, Cambodia functions much like Hun Sen’s personal fiefdom, where political power can be distributed at his discretion.
Although no longer prime minister, Hun Sen remains the ultimate authority as CPP president, Senate president, and head of the Privy Council. The current prime minister is expected to follow the party line and respect his leadership.
The contrast between Hun Sen’s wealth and power and the state of Cambodia’s military has become a source of public criticism, especially in the wake of the five-day border war with Thailand. Cambodian troops suffered heavy losses, with frontline soldiers resorting to Facebook appeals for donations of money, motorcycles and supplies.
Exiled opposition figures seized on these images, claiming Cambodia had lost Ta Muen Thom temple, Ta Kwai, Chong An Ma, Phu Makua, and Ban Nong Chan to the Thai military.
The backlash has fuelled wider accusations that while the Hun Sen family grows richer, Cambodia’s army remains weak, poorly equipped, and incapable of defending territory. In response, Hun Sen has sought to deflect attention from battlefield failures by ordering CPP branches in the provinces to organise marches expressing gratitude to US President Donald Trump and calling on Washington to intervene for the release of 18 Cambodian soldiers captured by Thailand.
The “Trump appreciation” rallies in Cambodia were largely a staged show, aimed at convincing the Cambodian public that the country is not isolated on the international stage.
Some political observers in Thailand have been intrigued by Phnom Penh’s apparent tilt toward Washington, particularly with a US Navy fleet scheduled to dock at the Ream naval base on August 25.
This follows the December 2024 port call of a US warship at Sihanoukville, seen as a revival of US-Cambodia military ties.
More than a decade ago, the US was a strong partner of the Cambodian armed forces, regularly using the Ream base for joint exercises. But after 2017, Washington froze military cooperation in response to Hun Sen’s dissolution of the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) and the imprisonment of its leaders.
Around the same time, Hun Sen deepened reliance on China, allowing Beijing to expand Ream base amid widespread speculation about its military role.
Analysts caution that it would be simplistic to suggest Hun Sen is now abandoning Beijing to align with Washington.
A veteran in international manoeuvring, Hun Sen is instead pursuing a “two-faced” diplomatic strategy, playing both sides without letting go of China.
On August 23, King Norodom Sihamoni and Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk travelled to Beijing for their annual health check, underlining the resilience of Cambodia–China relations.
Meanwhile, Hun Sen and his son, Prime Minister Hun Manet, continue to honour long-standing ties with Vietnam.
For Vietnam’s 80th National Day celebrations on September 2, Hun Manet will attend as a special guest, with two Cambodian army companies joining the parade alongside Chinese and Lao troops.
Hun Sen himself attended a Vietnamese embassy reception in Phnom Penh on August 21, together with CPP leaders, marking the August Revolution anniversary.
Maintaining these bonds with China and Vietnam, analysts note, may prove to be the Hun family’s lifeline as Cambodia faces growing military and political pressure from the Thai–Cambodian border conflict.
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