Cambodia and France to Strengthen Defense Cooperation Towards Strategic Partnership

General Vong Pisen, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF), has highly valued the continuous development of relations and cooperation between Cambodia and France, and is preparing a roadmap to elevate the relationship between the two countries towards a strategic partnership. This was stated during a meeting on the morning of September 16, 2026, at the RCAF Headquarters, where he welcomed Lieutenant General Stephane Richou, Director of Security and Defense Relations of France in Cambodia. During the meeting, General Vong Pisen recalled France's role in Cambodia's peacebuilding process through the Paris Conference, which led to the signing of the Paris Peace Agreements in 1991, as well as its support for Cambodia's development in many sectors. In the defense sector, the Commander-in-Chief expressed gratitude to the French army for its contribution to human resource development for the RCAF through scholarships and numerous training courses, especially for United Nations peacekeeping missions. He expressed his intention to further expand military cooperation in human resource training, exchange visits and information, counter-terrorism, cybersecurity, transnational crime, human trafficking, drug trafficking, technological fraud, as well as humanitarian activities, disaster relief, peacekeeping missions, inter-service cooperation, naval port calls, and joint exercises. Concurrently, General Vong Pisen briefed the French side on the actual situation along the Cambodia-Thailand border and reaffirmed Cambodia's stance in resolving border issues peacefully, based on international law and existing bilateral agreements, adhering to the principle that borders must not be changed by force. The Commander-in-Chief also thanked France for its support of the ceasefire and efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Cambodia-Thailand border conflict. On this occasion, Lieutenant General Stephane Richou thanked them for providing information on the border situation and stated that he would convey this information to the French Ministry of Defense. The Lieutenant General also praised the capabilities of the Cambodian army in combating landmines and explosive remnants of war, which could be an experience to share with ASEAN countries. Lieutenant General Stephane Richou spoke positively about Cambodian army trainees who studied in France, noting that they demonstrated French language proficiency and brought pride to Cambodia. Regarding the upcoming visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Cambodia, it was mentioned that this would be an opportunity to further strengthen the friendship and relations between the two countries and to promote the process of elevating Cambodia-France relations towards a strategic partnership. Source: AKP Khmer