Cambodia to downsize troops by 40,000

Cambodia will slim the army by 40,000 members and finally hold it at 70,000 in total, as part of an overall military reform, Ke Kim Yan, commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, said on Monday.

Yan made the remarks while meeting with visiting Liang Guanglie, chief of general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, at the military headquarters.

Meanwhile, the army will downsize its organizations from over 20 divisions to 12 brigades, train more young officers abroad, and establish more military camps within the country, he said.

In order to push through the reforms, the Cambodian army needs more equipment and training, he added.

Liang expressed understanding of the reform, saying that China intends to send professional staff members to the kingdom to help the army carry out its reform.

In addition, Cambodia can also send more officers to China for training, he added.

Liang arrived here on Saturday night on the first stop of his goodwill Asia tour which embraced Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand.

On Monday, he also met Prime Minister Hun Sen on bilateral ties and attended the inauguration ceremony of a military hospital's clinic building together with Deputy Prime Minister and Co- Minister of Defense Tea Banh.

Liang will leave for Laos on Tuesday.

Source: Xinhua