Thai general questions Hun Manet’s honour as West Point graduate
Thai general Lt Gen Wanchana Sawasdee publicly challenges Cambodian PM Hun Manet, asking where his honour as a West Point alumnus has gone amid border tensions.
Lt Gen Wanchana Sawasdee, an adviser at the National Defence Studies Institute under the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters, asked Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet where his honour as a West Point alumnus had gone.
He posted a message titled “Message to Hun Manet, son of Hun Sen”, saying:
Thai soldiers fight with the honour and dignity of true warriors. We adhere strictly to the gentleman’s rules of the battlefield. We do not desecrate or trample the enemy’s national flag. When opposing troops surrender and lay down their weapons, we take them as prisoners of war. We do not kill those who cannot fight back, who are unarmed, or who are not prepared to engage in combat.
Yet what we see from Cambodian forces is the complete opposite — the killing and harming of innocent Thai civilians who carry no weapons and pose no threat. This reflects the mindset and values of the military leadership under Hun Manet. Not once have we heard a single apology. Only evasion, denial, and an attempt to bury the honour of what a soldier should be. When a soldier commits wrongdoing, true honour is to admit it. Where has that honour gone? Was it never taught, or did all the lessons disappear despite the years spent at the United States Military Academy at West Point? Or perhaps such an education could not refine what lies beneath the surface.
I try to understand that Hun Manet is now no longer a soldier but a politician. Yet even that is difficult to comprehend because West Point is the birthplace of the Honour Code and Honour System — principles upheld by military institutions around the world and expected to guide one’s conduct for life. I repeat: for life.
The first rule: Do not lie. Do not evade.
Especially for a political leader who commands the use of military force and determines the direction of the nation, integrity should be the quality citizens expect most. A leader is entrusted by the people — although in this case, I am not entirely sure whether it was the people who chose you, or your father.
Therefore, the question remains:
Can the world still expect honour from a Westpointer?
What will the alumni and current cadets say?
Hun Manet — you are the answer to that question.
