00:00Cambodia's military will begin conscription of civilians in 2026.
00:05Prime Minister Houn Manet made the announcement today,
00:08citing rising tensions with Thailand as the reason for activating a long-dormant elizement law.
00:16Cambodia's Parliament approved the law in 2006,
00:19which requires all Cambodians aged 18 to 30 to serve in the military for 18 months.
00:25However, it has never been enforced.
00:27Houn Manet said the service period would now be extended to 24 months.
00:32He also pledged to increase Cambodia's defence budget.
00:35Tensions between Cambodia and Thailand have escalated since May,
00:39when a territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border clashes that killed one Cambodian soldier.
00:45It has also triggered a domestic political crisis in Thailand,
00:49where Prime Minister Pei Tong Tan Shinawat has been suspended from office
00:52following a leaked phone call with Houn Manet's father, former leader Houn Sen.
00:57Thailand already has military conscription for young, able-bodied men
01:00who enter a lottery to determine whether they have to serve.
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