Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet stated on 30/5 that he felt compelled to respond after numerous Thai social media users posted "false comments" under a post commemorating the 27th anniversary of his graduation from the West Point Military Academy, a prominent US military training institution.

"The short answer is, I did not attend West Point using a quota for the Thai military", he stated.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet in Brussels, Belgium in february. Photo: AFP

The statement came after some Thai social media users claimed that Hun Manet enrolled at West Point using an "enrollment quota designated for the Thai military". The Cambodian Prime Minister affirmed that similar allegations had surfaced in the past, and he typically did not respond. However, he decided to clarify this time to put an end to the long-standing misunderstanding.

The Cambodian leader explained that countries granted West Point admission quotas cannot transfer those slots to a third country. Only the United States has the authority to decide which nations receive quotas and how many candidates are admitted each year. International applicants must be nominated by their local Ministry of Defense and confirmed by the US embassy in that country before they can apply.

Prime Minister Hun Manet asserted that his West Point diploma clearly states he was a Cambodian cadet. "If I had used a Thai military quota to attend, I would certainly have needed a nomination from the Thai Ministry of Defense and confirmation from the US embassy in Bangkok", he said.

According to the Cambodian Prime Minister, he was nominated by the Cambodian Ministry of Defense in 1995 and confirmed by the US embassy in Phnom Penh, thereby becoming eligible to apply to West Point. "This clearly confirms that the quota I used to study at West Point was one granted by the United States to Cambodia, not to Thailand", he emphasized.

Hun Manet (right) and Prime Minister Hun Sen at the graduation ceremony at the West Point Military Academy in 1999. Photo: Facebook/Hun Manet

He suggested that anyone wishing to verify the information could contact the Thai Ministry of Defense, the US Embassy in Bangkok, or the West Point Academy. "I hope this explanation will put an end to the misunderstanding that I attended West Point using a Thai military enrollment quota, because that is not true", the Cambodian Prime Minister stated.

Hun Manet graduated from West Point in 1999, then pursued advanced programs in the United States and the United Kingdom before embarking on his military and political career. He was the first Cambodian to graduate from the academy, and one of 7 foreign cadets to complete the course at West Point in 1999.

West Point's website states that international cadets attend the academy through agreements approved by the US government and the institution.

Colonel Dougall McMillan, a former defense attache at the Australian embassy in Cambodia in the late 1990s and early 2000s, confirmed the Cambodian Prime Minister's statement.

"Colonel Bill McMillan, the US army defense attache in Cambodia at the time, was the person who initiated and handled the procedures related to Hun Manet's attendance at West Point", Colonel Dougall McMillan stated.

By Huyen Le (According to Khmer Times)