Will Hun Sen’s US-educated son spell change for China-friendly Cambodia?

US graduate Hun Manet has given rise to hope from some in the West that he might bring political change, as his autocratic father mulls handing over power

But experts say that logic is flawed, pointing to North Korea’s Swiss-educated Kim as an example, and add that Hun Manet isn’t likely to pivot away from China, ‘Cambodia’s main backer’

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Hun Manet, Commander of the Royal Cambodian Army. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 5:37pm, 21 Jul 2023Updated: 1:30pm, 22 Jul 2023

Hun Sen has been Cambodia’s autocratic prime minister for nearly four decades, during which the opposition has been stifled and the country has grown increasingly close to China.

With his Cambodian People’s Party virtually guaranteed another landslide victory in this Sunday’s election, it’s hard to imagine dramatic change on the horizon.

But the 70-year-old former communist Khmer Rouge fighter and Asia’s longest-serving leader says he is ready to hand the premiership to his oldest son, Hun Manet, a graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point who heads the country’s army.

Tens of thousands of supporters packed a central square in the capital before daybreak on Friday to hear the 45-year-old’s 7am kick-off to the CPP’s final day of campaigning before the vote.

With a warm smile and soft tone, a stark contrast to his father’s stern look and military-like cadence, Hun Manet said the CPP had brought peace, stability and progress to the Cambodian people.