October 29, 200817 yr PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Impoverished Cambodia has doubled its 2009 military budget to $500 million (311 million pounds) following this month's border clash with Thailand, officials said on Wednesday, an increase that is likely to anger its donors. The National Assembly is expected to approve the new budget next week, with the military accounting for 25 percent of all spending, said Cheam Yeap, head of its finance commission. "This incident has awoken us to the need for our soldiers to be better equipped. We cannot sit and watch Thai troops encroach on our border," he told Reuters. "Our army needs to be more organised, better trained, with newer bases and well-fed troops." Three Cambodian soldiers and one Thai died in the October 15 firefight in the shadow of the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, a stunning set of Hindu ruins that have been claimed for decades by both countries. Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKTRE49S23V20...
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