Hun Manet denies using a Thai military quota to attend West Point

In a post dated May 30, 2026, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said he had posted a message the previous day marking 27 years since his graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point on May 29, 1999. He wrote that some Thai social-media users had repeatedly alleged that he studied at West Point through a Thai military quota. He said he had previously chosen not to respond to avoid prolonging the issue unnecessarily, but now wanted to clarify the matter. His short answer was that he had not used a Thai military quota to attend West Point. 1. He argued that the United States had sufficient capacity to offer scholarships directly to countries and did not need to take a place allocated to Thailand and give it to a Cambodian candidate. 2. He said a country receiving places for West Point could not transfer its allocation to another country, and that the United States decided which countries received places and how many each year. 3. He said his West Point diploma clearly identified him as a cadet from Cambodia, rather than another country. 4. He described nomination by a candidate’s own Ministry of National Defence and endorsement by the U.S. Embassy in that country as necessary requirements for foreign cadets attending West Point. He added that, had he used a Thai military quota, he would have needed nomination by Thailand’s Ministry of Defence and endorsement by the U.S. Embassy in Thailand. In his own case, he said he received nomination from Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence and endorsement from the U.S. Embassy in Cambodia in 1995, not from the U.S. Embassy in Thailand. He said this showed that his place had been allocated by the United States to Cambodia. He said anyone seeking to verify his account could ask Thailand’s Ministry of Defence or the U.S. Embassy in Thailand whether they had nominated or endorsed a Cambodian candidate to attend West Point in place of a Thai candidate, or seek confirmation directly from the academy. He expressed confidence that no such case existed. 5. He said he hoped this clarification would end the misunderstanding that he attended West Point through a Thai military quota. By: ឡាយ កុល