A Cambodian political analyst says Hun Sen’s public admission of mistakes in past border tensions with Thailand can be seen as an act of leadership.
Kin Phea, director of the International Relations Institute at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, told the media that the key issue for any leader is the willingness to acknowledge mistakes and learn from experience.
But he said admitting mistakes alone is not enough to solve the problem. Cambodia, he added, still needs to strengthen its national defence capacity and be better prepared for future situations.
Speaking to residents in Banteay Meanchey province on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, Hun Sen, the Senate president and acting head of state, publicly acknowledged that Cambodia had not been fully prepared for past border tensions with Thailand.
He said the failure was his own mistake and should not be blamed on the current prime minister, Hun Manet.
Hun Sen said that while he was prime minister, he did not make full preparations for possible fighting along the border because he had confidence in Cambodia’s good relations with former Thai prime minister Prayut Chan Ocha.
At the same time, he rejected accusations from the Thai side that Cambodia was preparing its forces for war.
On Wednesday, June 10, 2026, Thai Defence Minister Adul Boonthamcharoen told a newspaper that Thailand was monitoring reports that Cambodia had ordered 93 T59D tanks, with 39 of them said to have arrived at Sihanoukville port on June 5, 2026.
The T59D is an upgraded battle tank, reportedly valued at between one million and two million dollars each. It is fitted with a larger 105 millimetre gun, night vision equipment, and stronger armour designed to resist anti-tank rockets.
Hun Sen said that beyond issues of lost territory and the failure to reclaim land, his trust in political relationships had shaped his decision-making.
He said that, as prime minister with full authority at the time, he had not fully prepared for combat, and that this was his mistake, not the mistake of the current prime minister.
The remarks have renewed debate over the risks of relying too heavily on personal trust between political leaders, especially in countries where governments change through regular leadership transitions.
Hun Sen was also once seen as a close ally of former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. But relations later deteriorated after Thaksin lost power and influence, with Hun Sen later revealing confidential matters linked to Thaksin’s daughter.
