Cambodia's military personnel faced a serious food shortage after the war broke out. Some soldiers who were temporarily not on combat duty kept going down to the river to fish, catch shrimp, and collect snails, providing themselves with a meal of snails. Others could only eat some wild vegetables and rice they cooked themselves. However, those fighting at the front lines had it much worse; they could only get a pack of instant noodles and a carbonated drink for a meal.

There was basically nothing else to eat, so they had to go hungry, eating without being full or trying to find something to buy or forage in the wild, eating whatever they could find.

According to tourists who have been to Cambodia, Cambodians currently don't eat bats or geckos, but almost all other species in Cambodia are consumed. This includes frogs, snakes, insects, and anything that flies, crawls, or swims. In fact, the food situation for Cambodia's military is much worse than in Thailand. The blogger has closely followed the dietary issues of Thai frontline troops, who have individual combat rations and are not starving.

However, the Cambodian army does not have individual field rations, so they have to figure things out themselves. The issued food is not enough, which is the biggest problem. It can only be said that Cambodia's economic level is still seriously inadequate, failing to meet the demands of the times, forcing them to constantly search for their own food. It feels like the meals of the Cambodian military are similar to those of the Kachin Allied Forces and the three allied forces in northern Myanmar, where they often have one meal and not the next, needing to find food themselves. Fighting while searching for food is almost the same.

It is unimaginable that a country like Cambodia, where Hun Sen constantly changes his luxury watches, allows his soldiers to eat so poorly. This is really hard to justify, and more military funding should be invested rather than just focusing on personal wealth. The current model must change, otherwise problems will surely arise, and defeat is the easiest outcome.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1838896785482762/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.