Border Committee Visits Northern Border Posts

Opposition lawmaker Real Camerin at a disputed area of the border with Vietnam at Svay Rieng province on Sunday. KT Photo: Ven Rathavong 

Khmer Times/Pav Suy

Tuesday, 21 July 2015

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PHNOM PENH (Khmer Times) – Secretary of state of the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Long Visalo led a working group to a disputed area of the border with Vietnam in Tbong Khmum province yesterday, officials said. 

They declined, however, to provide details of the visit. However, Var Kim Hong – chairman of the Border Committee – discussed the border in the northern province in a July 14 meeting on demarcation.

He told the 400 government officials who attended the meeting that Cambodian farmers along the border in the province were “technically encroaching” on Vietnamese territory.

Yesterday’s visit to Tbong Khmum comes two days after a trip by more than 2,000 activists to a disputed area of the border in Svay Rieng province’s Kompong Ro district. It was led by members of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, including lawmaker Real Camerin. 

Mr. Camerin said the visit to Tbong Khmum is important for two reasons. “First, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to show that it is paying attention to the border dispute.... Second, it is the first time that the ministry ... wants to show transparency... that the border dispute is not an individual’s issue,” Mr. Camerin said. 

“After a period when it [the border] has been restricted and secret, the border dispute is sensitive now to the government,” he added.

“After criticism and the efforts of the opposition, we can see that the government is open to the opposition and civil society [on border issues],” he added. 

Political analyst Ros Ravuth said he supported border visits but added that what is critical is the government’s resolve to solve territorial disputes.  

“It is partly true that the government is trying to calm down public opinion because the border dispute and territorial integrity are sensitive issues,” he said. 

“If they don’t deal with it, there can be many problems that we cannot even predict because people are becoming assertive about territorial integrity.”