Rank #78 · Asia-Pacific
Cambodia spends $739 million on defence — about 1.5% of GDP — fielding a 124,000-strong military that is heavily dependent on Chinese military assistance and overwhelmingly equipped with Soviet-era legacy systems. Phnom Penh's deepening security relationship with Beijing — centred on the controversial Ream Naval Base expansion — has alarmed ASEAN neighbours and the United States, which suspended military assistance over the issue.
Cambodia's defence budget has grown steadily with the broader economy, reaching $739 million in 2025. Personnel costs consume the majority; equipment is largely Soviet-legacy requiring expensive maintenance or replacement. China is the dominant external defence financier, providing grant aid, concessional loans, and donated equipment — a relationship formalised through multiple bilateral agreements under Prime Minister Hun Manet (who replaced his father Hun Sen in 2023). US military assistance, once a significant input, was suspended in 2023 over the Ream Naval Base issue. Cambodia's total military budget remains modest by regional standards, reflecting its non-threatening external posture and continuing development-priority resource allocation.
The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) consist of the Royal Cambodian Army (dominant service), Royal Cambodian Navy, Royal Cambodian Air Force (~5,000 personnel), and Royal Gendarmerie (~30,000). The Army is organised in infantry divisions and brigades with T-54/55 tanks, BTR-60/80 APCs, and various artillery systems — mostly Soviet-era. The Air Force operates MiG-21s (being retired), L-39 trainers, and Mi-17 helicopters. The Navy is primarily a riverine and coastal force with patrol craft. The Ream Naval Base on the Gulf of Thailand is undergoing significant infrastructure expansion financed and built by China, with deep-water berthing capacity that could support Chinese naval vessels.
Cambodia has no meaningful domestic defence manufacturing capacity. All major weapons systems and the majority of ammunition are imported. China is the overwhelming supplier of new equipment via military assistance grants and concessional loans — armoured vehicles, patrol craft, air defence radar, communications equipment, and base infrastructure. Russia supplied the core legacy inventory (tanks, aircraft, artillery). The US provided equipment and training before the 2023 suspension. Vietnam has historically supplied some small arms and ammunition. Cambodia's Ream Naval Base expansion by Chinese state construction firms — reportedly including PLAN-exclusive berthing facilities — is the most consequential defence-industrial development.
Cambodia faces no active external military conflict. Border demarcation disputes with Thailand (Preah Vihear temple area) and Vietnam remain latent but have not escalated to armed conflict since 2011 skirmishes. The primary security concern is internal: Hun family political control relies partly on military loyalty, and the armed forces serve a significant internal security function. The Ream Naval Base controversy is Cambodia's most significant external security risk — US officials have stated that PLAN access to Ream would constitute a strategic threat, and Australia and Japan have expressed similar concerns. ASEAN peers view Cambodia's China alignment with unease.
Prime Minister Hun Manet continued his father's pro-China defence posture after taking power in 2023. The Ream Naval Base expansion progressed significantly in 2024, with new pier infrastructure capable of hosting Chinese naval destroyers becoming operational. China donated 26 Norinco VN-16 infantry fighting vehicles to the RCAF in 2024. The US formally suspended foreign military financing to Cambodia in 2023 over Ream, citing the base's exclusive-Chinese-access provisions. Cambodia participated in joint "Golden Dragon" exercises with China in 2025. RCAF Chief General Vong Pisen confirmed in early 2025 that Chinese naval vessels were welcome at Ream for "routine port calls."
The US and regional allies allege that Cambodia's Ream Naval Base on the Gulf of Thailand is being secretly expanded to host Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy vessels exclusively — giving China a strategically positioned base in Southeast Asia. Cambodia denies PLAN exclusivity but demolished a US-funded facility at the site and barred US inspectors, fuelling suspicion. China financed and built the new pier infrastructure.
$739 million in 2025 (~1.47% of GDP), making it a mid-tier spender by Southeast Asian standards. China provides substantial additional grant military assistance not fully captured in the defence budget figure. The US suspended military financing in 2023 over the Ream base issue.
Primarily Soviet-era legacy systems — T-54/55 tanks, BTR APCs, MiG-21 fighters (being retired), and assorted artillery. China has supplied new armoured vehicles (VN-16 IFVs), radars, patrol boats, and communications equipment via military assistance. Russia remains the source for most legacy systems still in service.