Maly Socheata: Mouthpiece for Cambodia’s chemical weapons claim against Thailand

Lt General Maly Socheata, spokesperson for Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defence, is making headlines both at home and in Thailand as the two countries trade allegations over deadly border clashes.

While compatriots praise her forthright style, many Thais now see her as synonymous with fake news.

Socheata, 41, has become a prominent media presence during the border flare-up, serving as the mouthpiece for Cambodian claims and accusations against Thailand’s armed forces.

The latest round of clashes erupted on the morning of July 24, with gunfire at the disputed Ta Muen Thom in Surin province followed by Cambodian rocket attacks targeting civilian areas deep inside Thailand. Thai security forces responded with artillery attacks and air strikes on Cambodian military posts near the border.

Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health reports that the five days of Cambodian attacks killed at least 17 civilians and caused severe damage to healthcare facilities.

‘Serious distortion of facts’

Socheata is tasked with helming press conferences on the border dispute as defence spokesperson. Her strategy has been to strenuously deny Thai allegations while bombarding the Thai army with a barrage of claims and accusations – some of which have been exposed as groundless fantasy.

These include her declaration that Thailand had resorted to chemical warfare, a claim rejected by the Royal Thai Armed Forces as “completely unfounded” and “a serious distortion of facts”.

Socheata is quoted in Cambodian media asserting that Thai forces used chemical weapons in several border battle zones on July 27. The next day, she told a press conference in Phnom Penh that Thai fighter jets had dropped shells containing poison gas.

Cambodian reports and social media posts echoed Socheata’s claim, backing it up with photos of an aircraft spraying forested hills with pink “gas”.

However, an AFP Fact Check showed the images came from a US mission to extinguish Los Angeles wildfires in January.

‘Daily lies and deceptive tactics’

Prominent Cambodian figures pounced on the chemical warfare claim, amplifying it through their social media. Among them was Pich Chanmony, the wife of Prime Minister Hun Manet, who posted the accusation on Facebook.

The Thai military responded on July 28, stating that Socheata had “resorted to the strategic use of disinformation in an attempt to fabricate legitimacy in the eyes of the international community”. It condemned her action as “not only irresponsible but also deceitful, manipulative, and detrimental to peace and stability” in the region.

“Thailand denounces Cambodia’s daily lies and deceptive tactics aimed at manufacturing legitimacy,” its statement said.

Thai armed forces spokesman Maj-General Vithai Laithomya also rebutted Socheata’s assertion that Thailand had launched unprovoked attacks that violated Cambodian sovereignty.

He described her claim as a “shameless distortion of facts”, adding that her “entirely baseless and false” accusations were a desperate attempt by Phnom Penh to deflect international attention from Cambodia’s unprovoked aggression followed by continued violation of Thai sovereignty despite agreeing to a ceasefire.

A rare female general

Socheata was born on November 28, 1983, in Kampong Cham, a city on the Mekong River in southeastern Cambodia.

She is one of only a handful of female generals in Cambodia’s male-dominated military. She is married to Kung Phoak, a former secretary of state at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

After completing secondary education in her hometown, she studied at Vanda University in Phnom Penh.

In 2006, she joined Cambodia’s Ministry of Women's Affairs, going on to become a key member of a working group under the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) in Siem Reap.

Socheata was appointed undersecretary of state at the Ministry of National Defence in 2013 – a post she still holds following two extensions of term. She also doubles as the ministry’s spokesperson.

In April 2023, then-prime minister Hun Sen stamped Socheata’s promotion to lieutenant-general, just four months before handing power to his son, Hun Manet.

According to the Khmer Times, Socheata was promoted alongside another senior female officer at the Ministry of National Defence, Secretary of State Dam Dariny, who became a four-star general.

Hun Sen reportedly expressed a desire that the two women continue their long-term service at the ministry, emphasising their roles as professional military officers.

Many Thai social media users have noted Socheata’s resemblance to Cambodian pop star Tata — famous over a decade ago — sparking speculation that the spokesperson had a previous career as a singer.