PM Hun Manet Refutes Thai Social Media Claims Over West Point Scholarship
PM Hun Manet Refutes Thai Social Media Claims Over West Point Scholarship
PHNOM PENH, May 30, 2026 — Prime Minister Hun Manet has publicly rejected claims circulating among some Thai social media users that he attended the United States Military Academy at West Point through a quota allocated to the Thai military, describing the allegation as false and unsupported by facts.
In a statement published on his official Facebook page, Hun Manet said he decided to address the issue after repeated claims resurfaced following a post marking the 27th anniversary of his graduation from West Point on May 29, 1999.
The prime minister stated that he was admitted under a slot granted directly by the United States to Cambodia and not through any allocation assigned to Thailand.
Hun Manet explained that countries receiving West Point admissions quotas are not permitted to transfer those positions to other countries, as the allocation process is determined exclusively by the United States government. He added that his academic records and degree clearly identify him as a Cambodian cadet.
The Cambodian leader further noted that foreign candidates seeking admission to West Point must receive a nomination from their own country’s Ministry of National Defense and an endorsement from the U.S. Embassy in their country. According to Hun Manet, he received both the nomination from Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence and endorsement from the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh in 1995.
“If I had used a Thai military quota, I would have been nominated by Thailand’s Ministry of Defense and endorsed by the U.S. Embassy in Thailand,” he wrote.
Hun Manet also challenged those questioning his admission to seek verification directly from Thailand’s Ministry of Defense, the U.S. Embassy in Thailand, or West Point itself, expressing confidence that no evidence exists to support the allegation.
The statement appears aimed at dispelling a narrative that has periodically circulated online regarding his military education and reinforcing that his admission to one of the United States’ most prestigious military academies was granted under Cambodia’s own allocation.
The clarification comes as Hun Manet marks nearly three decades since graduating from West Point, where he studied as part of a cohort of international military cadets sponsored by the United States.
