Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defense has dismissed suggestions of nepotism in the appointment of new navy commander, Tea Sokha, insisting it is in compliance with the kingdom’s law.
Tea Sokha is the only son of former navy commander Tea Vinh, who he succeeded after being appointed in February at the request of Prime Minister Hun Manet.
“There have recently been some posts on social media that have caused confusion regarding the appointment of Vice Admiral Tea Sokha as commander of the Royal Cambodian Navy,” the ministry said in a statement.
After Tea Sokha was appointed last month, there was online criticism that his promotion was a case of nepotism but the ministry strongly denied that.
It said that Article 23 of the Law on the Organization and Conduct of the Council of Ministers dated June 28, 2018, stipulates that the prime minister is entitled to propose to the king to “appoint, change and terminate the duties by Royal Decree” of senior civil and military officers of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and National Police officers including the navy commander.
“The appointment of Vice Adm. Tea Sokha … is in total accordance with the law, there is nothing wrong with it,” it said.
As the new navy commander, Tea Sokha has been seen attending international events and on Feb. 22, conducted an inspection at the China-developed Ream naval base in Sihanoukville, southwest Cambodia.
His father, four-star general Tea Vinh, left the commander’s post in early February to become a Secretary of State at the Ministry of National Defense.
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Tea Vinh, 73, is the younger brother of former defense minister Tea Banh, whose own son, Tea Seiha, is now defense minister.
In 2021, as the commander of the navy, Tea Vinh and Chau Phirun, the director general of the defense ministry’s material and technical services department, were placed on a sanction list by the U.S. Treasury for “significant corruption.”
The Treasury said that the two, and other Cambodian government officials, “likely conspired to inflate the cost of facilities at Ream naval base and personally benefit from the proceeds.”
Being on the list means all their properties and interests in properties that are in the United States are blocked and they, as well as their immediate family members are subject to U.S. visa restrictions.
The Cambodian government dismissed the U.S. accusation as a groundless smear campaign.
In the same year, then-U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman expressed concern about China’s construction of new facilities at Ream to Cambodia’s leader Hun Sen.
U.S.-Cambodia relations were strained over the past decade amid allegations of corruption, human rights abuse and repression of political opposition, as well as Phnom Penh’s close ties with China, but it has recently shown some signs of improvement after Westpoint-educated Hun Manet, the eldest son of Hun Sen, became prime minister.
A U.S. warship visited Sihanoukville last December – the first in eight years – and the Cambodian military is reportedly seeking to renew the Angkor Sentinel joint drills with the U.S. which Phnom Penh cancelled in 2017.
Edited by Mike Firn.