By Prashanth Parameswaran
The 17 percent hike was approved by the legislature amid an opposition boycott.
Cambodia has raised its defense budget by over 17 percent for 2016, according to a bill approved by the country’s legislature amid an opposition boycott.
Under the $4.6 billion national budget for 2016 approved by Cambodia’s National Assembly, defense spending was set at $383 million, more than a 17 percent increase from the 2015 figure and around 2 percent of GDP. Combined with the spending for internal security of $286.7 million, IHS Jane’s notes that the total defense and security allocation represents a year-on-year increase of 10 percent.
The hike continues a pattern of successive increases in military spending since Cambodia’s heated border confrontation with Thailand over the disputed Preah Vihear temple back in 2008. According to data from the renowned Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Cambodia’s military spending rose more than 56 percent between 2010 and 2014 alone.
Read the full story at The Diplomat