Put US weapons in warehouses or destroy them, Cambodia tells military after arms embargo

Prime Minister Hun Sen also downplayed the quality of American weaponry, saying ‘a lot of those who use US arms lost wars’

The move came after Washington imposed an arms embargo over Phnom Penh’s close ties with China

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Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Photo: AP

Published: 9:09pm, 10 Dec 2021Updated: 9:14pm, 10 Dec 2021

Cambodian leader Hun Sen ordered the country’s military to destroy any US weaponry or dump it in warehouses on Friday, after Washington imposed an arms embargo over human rights concerns and Phnom Penh’s close ties with China.

The US on Wednesday imposed an arms embargo on Cambodia, citing concerns about human rights and corruption in the southeast Asian nation as well as China’s activities there.

The actions taken by the US State and Commerce departments aimed to restrict access to “defence articles and defence services” by Cambodia’s military and intelligence agencies, according to a statement.

But Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen downplayed the quality of US weapons and equipment on Friday.

“I order all army units to immediately review arms and military items that Cambodia currently has. [We] must recall all US arms and military items if there are any – put them in warehouses or destroy them accordingly,” he said in a Facebook post.

“[The US arms embargo] is a warning message to the next generation of Cambodians who lead the government that if they want an independent defence sector, please don’t use US weapons.”