Khmer Times/Taing Vida Tuesday, 30 August 2016
Cambodia tried to talk tough in a meeting with Vietnamese border officials yesterday, but their threats and harsh words did little to prompt apologies or even agreements to stop building in disputed areas from their Vietnamese neighbors.
In a closed-door meeting at the Council of Ministers yesterday, Va Kim Hong, the chairman of the Border Committee, and Le Hoai Trung, the deputy minister of the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry in charge of border affairs, touched on a number of contentious issues related to the Cambodia-Vietnam border, including mapping assistance from France and construction in border areas by Vietnamese soldiers.
The two sides discussed the technical assistance needed from France in mapping the border, hoping to use their “Bonne” maps of the region and their high-tech mapping instruments to settle a number of disputed areas.
But even the message they plan to send to France is causing friction between the two sides, as Cambodia believes that only two of the seven disputed areas along the border require France to step in, while Vietnam thinks France should arbitrate decisions for all seven of the areas being debated.
“We want France to help with only two points among the seven listed, which the premier requested to Vietnam. But Vietnam wants all seven points, so we do not agree. I think the additional five points can be handled by experts from our two countries. I cannot tell you which points these are,” Mr. Kim Hong said.
On March 19 in Ho Chi Minh City, the two countries agreed to jointly ask France to provide technical mapping experts to copy the maps for border post numbers 30-40 in Rattanakiri province and border posts numbers 138-147 in Svay Rieng province.
Despite holding discussions for more than six hours, the only thing the two sides agreed upon was to start border demarcation – something both sides have been claiming to do for years – in early September.
They will not work together on the project or share funding for the border posts that have not been finished. Earlier this year, Cambodian officials claimed 83 percent of the border was demarcated and little has been said about the remaining portions since.
But the biggest issue – Vietnam’s construction of ponds and buildings in areas designated no-man’s land in a decades-old agreement – was left hanging in the balance, with Cambodia’s harsh words having little effect on Vietnam’s view of the issue.
Border Committee vice-president Long Visalo said the Cambodia Border Working Group asked the Vietnamese side to suspend all construction or face potential action by the military.
“If Vietnam does not suspend construction, Cambodia will demolish the buildings on the border ourselves,” he said.
“I have argued and I will demolish it if they dare to keep doing it. Now we are waiting for them to talk with their related officials. Please don’t talk about the ponds. Nine ponds are still nine ponds, and we will force them to remove it.”
Mr. Kim Hong said the Vietnamese delegation only promised to take Cambodia’s complaints to their superiors and “discuss it within the framework of Vietnam’s inter-ministerial teams” before responding.
Mr. Hoai Trung declined to comment, but both sides confirmed that once their meetings finish, they will release the results of the meeting and send it to the leaders of both countries.
Yesterday, Cambodian Youth Party president Pich Sros gathered members of his organization to submit a petition to the Vietnamese embassy in Phnom Penh demanding that Vietnam issue a statement agreeing to stop any border encroachment.
But the Vietnamese embassy refused to accept the petition. Mr. Sros threatened to hold demonstrations in front of the embassy if he does not receive a response in 30 days.
Two weeks ago, Cambodia issued its 23rd diplomatic note to Vietnam, asking it to stop building ponds and structures near the border post in Pok Nhai commune across from Vietnam’s Gai Lai province, which was designated as a no-man’s land until defined borders were created in a January 17, 1995, agreement between the two countries.
The diplomatic note also asks Vietnam to stop any building along the border in Svay Rieng, Kandal and Takeo provinces. But Vietnam has ignored every diplomatic entreaty and continues, to this day, to build structures in the open view of Cambodian citizens.
Tensions with Vietnam are on the rise due to a number of issues, most involving either the border between the two countries or the actions of the Asean regional bloc.
Specifically, Prime Minister Hun Sen has been bombarded on Facebook by angry Vietnamese users who claim Cambodia was the main opponent to any statement by Asean that reprimanded China for its unilateral claims in the South China Sea.
The government has also been embroiled in controversy for the past two weeks over Vietnamese nationals being allowed to own and rent land along the border.
Mr. Hun Sen expressly banned the practice in an edict released last November, but it has continued unabated, with local residents in three communes in Svay Rieng province saying that local government officials were conspiring with Vietnamese nationals to secure land titles and leasing agreements by using Cambodian names on any official documents.
The government has denied any complicity in the claim, but local residents continue to say that Vietnamese nationals are openly renting land and flouting the prime minister’s ban with help of local authorities.