KRATIE: Prime Minister Hun Sen has stated that he does not support war-related military exercises and prefers the military to be trained to for counter-terrorism and disaster prevention instead. He made these remarks while delivering a speech in Kratie at the inauguration ceremony for seven new bridges, built with the assistance of Japanese aid.

During his speech, Prime Minister Hun Sen thanked Japan for its continued assistance and support to Cambodia, especially for welcoming his son, Lt. Gen. Hun Manet, during his official visit to Japan this week.

He further encouraged Cambodia and Japan to hold joint military exercises involving counter-terrorism or disaster prevention exercises rather than war exercises. He said, "I don’t want war! The anti-terrorism drills are what I want–to fight terrorism, and the other drills I want are disaster relief drills, for example, drills to respond to floods, droughts, wildfires, plane crashes, or other incidents which we will continue to discuss."

Lt. Gen. Hun Manet met with General Yoshida Yoshihide at the Japanese Ministry of National Defense on Tuesday, where the Japanese General stated that Cambodia is the first Southeast Asian nation to support Japan’s “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” strategy both regionally and globally.

The general also highlighted the continued support of the Cambodian Armed Forces in capacity building for non-traditional war security situations, such as cyber-attacks and other threats to modern technology, as well as disasters and epidemics, including the support of joint military exercises in the future.