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Address at the Closing of the Stocktaking Workshop on the 5-Year Military
Reform (2005-2009)
and 5-Year Direction Setting (2010-2014)
Ministry of Defense, January 28, 2010
Your Excellencies Deputy Prime Ministers, Senior Ministers,
Ministers, and Members of the Royal Government,
Your Excellencies Commander-in-Chief and Deputy
Commander-in-Chief,
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Commanders, Deputy
Commanders, Military Officers and Privates of all Units of the RCAF,
Ladies and Gentlemen, Military Attaché of Friend Countries,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen!
Today it is my privilege and pleasure to be here with commanders,
deputy commanders and military officers, representatives of all units of the
RCAF and Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen in this stocktaking workshop on
the 5-year military reforms (2005-2009) and 5-year direction setting for
(2010-2014). This workshop allows us to reassess achievements, deficiencies
and challenges to make the formulation of new plan consistent with other
ministries/institutions and attainable for the purpose of socio-economic
development. I am sure, during this two-day hectic schedule, you have
successfully reviewed all major achievements during the 5-year reform
(2005-2009) by coming up with in-depth analysis and recommendations for
fine-tuning the next 5 years plan to accommodate Political Platform and Rectangular Strategy- Phase II of the fourth legislature of
the National Assembly.
Taking this opportunity, I would like to extend my appreciation
and sincerest regards to military officers and privates of the RCAF who, adding
to their firm commitment to the constitution, Royal Government’s policies, laws
and regulations, have transformed themselves into an armed force with dignity,
honor and bravery for the cause of the Nation, Religion and King. Along
with this, I would also like to extend my deepest gratitude to all compatriots,
whose beloved husbands/wives, sons/daughters and relatives have been joining the
army in all forces to protect the nation and I would also like to convey my
profound gratitude and regards to all families of soldiers, including families
of the killed-in-action, disabled, and demobilized soldiers. Taking this
opportunity, I would also like to convey my admiration to all heroic soldiers,
who are bravely protecting the nation’s sovereignty, peace and security and
serving within the framework of the UN.
In this connection, I profoundly thank Excellencies, ladies and
gentlemen who spare your time to visit and donate foods and other utilities to
keep our heroic soldiers strong and in good condition for action and to relieve
the burden of the Royal Government, and I encourage all of you to keep up this
good deed. This deed represents the unity of the people and armed forces of
Cambodia, who will always be united to protect peace, freedom, independence,
sovereignty and development of the nation.
On behalf of the Royal Government and myself, I would like to
extend my warmest welcome to all military attaché of friend countries and thank
the people and governments of friend countries who have always supported RCAF’s
reform and development programs.
Peace, territorial integrity and political stability
that had been missed out for decades, have enabled Cambodia not only to
implement reforms in all sectors, but also to develop human resources, build
institutional capacity, strengthen socio-economic infrastructure and create
favorable environment to attract local and foreign investment. At the same
time, the Royal Government has been promoting reforms in all kinds of armed
forces, aiming at strengthening quality, loyalty to the nation, respect of the
constitution; and ensuring to abide by the discipline and morality as well as
high expertise, which allow all armed forces to fulfill duties in protecting the
country, ensuring national security and maintaining public order efficiently
under all circumstances. In this spirit, the Royal Government has been putting
out the principles and concrete measures, providing social land concession to
handicapped, disabled, retired, dead soldiers and their families. Doings so
means we are grateful their priceless contribution to the nation and people
together with the commitment to support their livelihood in cash and in kind
continually, including the provision of other subvention as well as providing
honor, respect and dignity to our people in accordance with situation of our
national economy.
In this regard, the Royal Government has always supported the
Cambodian Royal Armed forces to actively engage with international communities
in cooperation to prevent and combat all terrorism activities and subversion
inside and outside the countries. In this vision, the Royal Government adheres
strictly to policy not to tolerate any illegal military or political
organizations, who intends to spark instability in Cambodia or use Cambodian
land to conduct activities against neighboring countries. Furthermore, the
Royal Government has been providing all kinds of support to develop and
modernize national defense sector to be fully capable in parallel with
situations and needs for social development in order to enable our Royal
Cambodian Armed Forced to carry out role and duties efficiently.
The active workshop clearly
reflects the historical and heroic mission of commander, deputy commander and
armed force at all level. Today, I would like to additionally emphasize on some
key guidelines and experience to promote the implementation of national defense
policy and to pursue armed forces reform program in order to make them become a
strong and core armed forces so that they would be able to preserve national
independence, sovereignty, integrity, peace, political stability, security,
national order, and national development. In the connection, our armed forces
have to view our future based on current basis, strong and weak experience,
challenges and opportunity in order that we can promptly address current issues
in compliance with regional and global development context.
Indeed, our armed forces have
profoundly implemented 5-year reform since 2000. We have experienced many
difficulties and enormous sacrifice. In addition, we have successfully
implemented “win-win policy” that brings to our people and country peace,
national conciliation, certain and full national unity. We are aware that in
early 21st century, technology has promoted infrastructure
development at all sectors for humanity. However, compared to regional
countries, Cambodia still has a big gap of human resource shortage that needs to
be addressed. Therefore, the Ministry of Defense and Commander-in-chief continue
to carry out 5-year armed forces reform by focusing on human resource
development and promoting their capacity, so that our armed forces could stand
equally with others in the region and in other developed countries.
On behalf of the Royal
Government, the Ministry of Defense and Commander-in-chief, I would like to take
the opportunity to recall to commander, deputy commander and armed forces at all
level to continue to pay attention on some priority tasks as follows:
1. Must continue to strengthen the
defense competitive advantage of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, especially at
the border areas and at Military Region 3, 4 and 5.
2. Must continue to strengthen
National Defense Strategic Plan and implementation with the focus on improving
and positioning of the front lines units, building military barracks, defense
communications system, supporting system, border road constructions, military
strategic routes, and accommodation to prevent any encroachments to territorial
integrity of the Kingdom of Cambodia.
3. Must continue to strengthen the
quality of political, psychological and vocational training, laws, military
rules and regulations that are related to the implementation of Royal
Government’s policies to the armed forces in order to ensure the faithfulness
and honesty to the Nation, Religion and King, respect of the
constitution, laws, disciplines and rules of armed forces, high morality,
nationalism and firmly follow the Royal Government’s leadership. At the same
time, our armed forces must be equipped with professional skills to carry out
their duties in defending the national territorial integrity-land, water/sea,
airspace, national security, public order, independence and other national
achievements as always. Moreover, armed forced must strongly cooperate with all
levels of authorities to help our people in emergencies or disasters, to help
clearing landmines and to build roads at remote areas, especially at front-line
border areas.
4. Must continue to strengthen real
human resources within the armed forces leadership with the focus on education,
vocational training, and technological know-how on armed forced reforms more
deeply and effectively. In this spirit, Commander-in-Chief, Deputies
Commander-in-Chief, Commanders, Deputy Commanders, Officers and armed forces of
all units of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces must take their strong efforts to
carry out their duties and missions, as role models to lead in battles, in
training, in agriculture to strengthen capacity and living standard of each unit
and to live in harmony with armed forces. At the same time, they must continue
strengthening their research studies to enhance the defense knowledge and other
skills such as information technology as well as strengthening the international
cooperation on military sector in both regional and global framework, aiming to
develop and modernize the defense sector of Cambodia to be more competent and
consistent with evolving situation and development of the nation and the world.
5. Must continue to implement the
RCAF reform with high spirit of responsibility and ownership based on the
foundation of policy for handicapped, disabled, retired, dead soldiers and their
families. In the meantime, we must pay further attention to capacity building
by following the rules and regulations of the Kingdom of Cambodia and improving
the organizational chart of controlling and carefully preparing the soldiers to
be regulated forces in order to ensure effectiveness and efficiency in their
mission to maintain peace, stability, integrity, sovereignty, and social order.
6. Must pay attention to closely
cooperate with related institutions, all levels of authorities, organizations,
associations and various donors in order to effectively respond to the policy of
the Royal Government for the armed forces, which is the sustainable social
safety net, resulting from the efforts to ensure and enhance the living standard
and pose favorable condition for the ex-soldiers, who have been handicapped,
disabled, retired, demobilized, and their families, to be able to live as
civilians with stability and harmonization with families and communities. These
affairs include professional training; the support for living through allocating
the social concession land, which is to provide opportunity for them to have
land for building houses, making businesses and doing cultivation, which will be
able to support their living as well as increasing socio-economic productivity.
7. Must pay attention to set up
data system, which contains clear name lists according to each unit and create
the mechanism to verify and constantly update by closely cooperating with the
Ministry of Economy and Finance in order to strengthen the management on armed
forces, who have been retired, disabled, handicapped and killed.
8. Must continue to improve the
welfare of the armed forces by providing constantly sufficient food ration,
medicines, medical counseling services in all military units as well providing
good cooperation with health related institutions in order to ensure efficiency
on the medical check-up for the soldiers, especially heroic fighters along
Cambodian border.
9. Must strengthen and expand
further cooperation between related military units and other civilian
institutions with the objective to contribute upgrading capacity and local
development of the each unit of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. Along with
this, we must continue to build and strengthen military sector of the Kingdom of
Cambodia to be a united national force with strong solidarity and be able to
truly and actively contribute to the socio-economic development and assist
Cambodian people in all circumstances of calamities in both national and
international levels by playing roles as United Nations Peace Keeping Forces.
What I have put forward in the recommendations is just to
highlight the real challenges and issues to be solved in order to push the Royal
Cambodian Armed Forces to be strong, brave and stable on the long way toward the
future. In this regard, I would like the management of the Ministry of National
Defense, Commander-in-Chief, Commanders in all levels, Officers and all Soldiers
of the RCAF, to continue their utmost physical, mental and spiritual efforts in
order to successfully implement the next 5 year reform program (2010-2014). At
the same time, I would like all the related ministries and institutions to
continue to closely cooperate and support our RCAF to achieve their duties and
obligations, which are the high interest of our nation and people.
At the end, together with the closing of “5-Year Stocktaking
Workshop (2005-2009) for Military Reform and 5-Year Direction Setting
(2010-2014), I would like to wish Excellencies Commander-in-Chief, Deputy
Commander-in-Chiefs, Commanders, Deputy Commanders, Officers and all Soldiers in
all military units, especially the heroic fighters, who are now stationing along
the border as well as the military attaché of the friend countries,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, who are present here today, the four gems of
Buddhist blessing: Longevity, Nobility, Health and
Strength.
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