Poem by Hin Sithan
Showing posts with label Border disputes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Border disputes. Show all posts
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Saturday, May 31, 2008
A defining moment draws near
Var Kimhong: The border with Laos will be fully demarcated by the end of June. (Photo: KAY KIMSONG)Friday, 30 May 2008
Written by Kay Kimsong
The Phnom Penh Post
Cambodia expects to finish demarcating its border with Laos in June and its boundary with Vietnam on schedule by 2012, but there is no timeframe for concluding negotiations with Thailand, a senior government official said.
Var Kimhong, the chairman of the Government Border Committee, told reporters on May 17 the Cambodia-Laos border committee had inspected 86 percent of the markers along the 540-kilometer border and only a few issues remained to be finalized.
A 14-member Laotian delegation will be in Phnom Penh from June 3 to 5 for talks on the border, said a senior official at the Laotian embassy, Kengchai Sixanonh.
“The Cambodia-Laos joint border committee has been working very smoothly and I think the relationship will get better in the future,” Kengchai said.
Kimhong meanwhile said work on demarcating the border with Vietnam had been accelerated under an additional treaty signed with Hanoi in 2005.
He said the treaty increased from one to five the number of groups working on delineating the 1,270km border, which will have more than 350 granite markers.
However, Kimhong said differences with Bangkok over the 805km border with Thailand remained a problem, and he referred to a reported incursion by armed Thai paramilitary rangers on May 16 during which some houses were damaged at Choam Sa Ngam, in Anlong Veng district of Oddar Meanchey province.
Kimhong said he was “surprised” by the incursion because negotiations had been taking place with Bangkok on opening a border crossing at Choam Sa Ngam linking Oddar Meanchey with Thailand’s Si Sa Ket province.
The governor of Anlong Veng district, Yin Phanna, said on May 19 the situation had “cooled down” after talks earlier that day between Cambodian officials, including members of the provincial border commission, and Thai army officers.
“Negotiations were the only way to solve the issue,” Phanna said, adding that no Cambodian troops were deployed in the area where the incursion took place.
Despite occasional incidents along the border with Thailand, Kimhong said Cambodia regarded the bilateral relationship as one of “eternal friendship.”
“We are like brothers or friends who live near each other ... we don’t need to deploy any troops,” Kimhong said.
The Cambodia-Thailand Joint Border Commission began its demarcation work in 2006 – three years after the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding to resolve border issues – and has focused its efforts on finding the 73 markers installed by a French-Siamese commission.
“The search for border markers has no schedule or timeframe for completing the task; what is most important is that an agreement can be reached,” Kimhong said.
Asked about the main obstacles to demarcating the Cambodia-Thai border, Kimhong said the legacies of colonialism and years of conflict meant that it was not a “normal” border.
Var Kimhong, the chairman of the Government Border Committee, told reporters on May 17 the Cambodia-Laos border committee had inspected 86 percent of the markers along the 540-kilometer border and only a few issues remained to be finalized.
A 14-member Laotian delegation will be in Phnom Penh from June 3 to 5 for talks on the border, said a senior official at the Laotian embassy, Kengchai Sixanonh.
“The Cambodia-Laos joint border committee has been working very smoothly and I think the relationship will get better in the future,” Kengchai said.
Kimhong meanwhile said work on demarcating the border with Vietnam had been accelerated under an additional treaty signed with Hanoi in 2005.
He said the treaty increased from one to five the number of groups working on delineating the 1,270km border, which will have more than 350 granite markers.
However, Kimhong said differences with Bangkok over the 805km border with Thailand remained a problem, and he referred to a reported incursion by armed Thai paramilitary rangers on May 16 during which some houses were damaged at Choam Sa Ngam, in Anlong Veng district of Oddar Meanchey province.
Kimhong said he was “surprised” by the incursion because negotiations had been taking place with Bangkok on opening a border crossing at Choam Sa Ngam linking Oddar Meanchey with Thailand’s Si Sa Ket province.
The governor of Anlong Veng district, Yin Phanna, said on May 19 the situation had “cooled down” after talks earlier that day between Cambodian officials, including members of the provincial border commission, and Thai army officers.
“Negotiations were the only way to solve the issue,” Phanna said, adding that no Cambodian troops were deployed in the area where the incursion took place.
Despite occasional incidents along the border with Thailand, Kimhong said Cambodia regarded the bilateral relationship as one of “eternal friendship.”
“We are like brothers or friends who live near each other ... we don’t need to deploy any troops,” Kimhong said.
The Cambodia-Thailand Joint Border Commission began its demarcation work in 2006 – three years after the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding to resolve border issues – and has focused its efforts on finding the 73 markers installed by a French-Siamese commission.
“The search for border markers has no schedule or timeframe for completing the task; what is most important is that an agreement can be reached,” Kimhong said.
Asked about the main obstacles to demarcating the Cambodia-Thai border, Kimhong said the legacies of colonialism and years of conflict meant that it was not a “normal” border.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Border activitists: Hun Sen did give out lands to VN and Thailand
Hun Sen (L), Sean Pengse (C), and Ear Channa (R)
Left: Vietnamese soldiers (arrow) preventing SMD students from visiting an encroached area in Kampot province. Right: border makers newly installed by Vietnam in the "white zone" of Snuol district, Kratie provinceSunday-Monday 02-03 March 2008
By Sila
Sralanh Khmer newspaper
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
Recently, prime minister Hun Sen said in Koh Thom district, Kandal province, that the claim made by those who accuse his government of losing Cambodian lands is tantamount to looking down on the Khmer Nation. However, the Cambodia Watchdog Council International (CWCI) said that Hun Sen’s words are lies to both himself and the Cambodian public.
The Cambodian government deposited maps at the UN in 1955 which indicates that its lands juxtapose with the Vietnamese borders along a length of 1,230 km, the Lao borders along a length of 540 km, and the Thai borders along a length of 804 km. The maritime borders with Vietnam and Thailand extend over a length of 507 km, if measured according to actual border delineation, however, this length is 215 km if measured along straight line.
Civil society, the opposition party and the general public used to criticize the Hun Sen regime which allowed the loss of Cambodian territories, beginning from the 80s when it allowed neighboring countries to move their borders inside Cambodian territories from all directions. However, Hun Sen declared recently that “Based on their propaganda, maybe the current Cambodian borders would be located in Pursat province, and from the east, it would be located at Kampong Chhnang, therefore, the Cambodian borders all disappeared… but Khmer in Koh Thom are witnesses, those who live and are born here in the past, their number still remains the same.”
In response to Hun Sen’s statement regarding the border issue, Ear Channa, the CWCI Secretary-general, said from Norway that, 2 or 3 years ago, he visited the areas where Cambodia lost its territories. He said that in 2004-2005, while he was the deputy Secretary-general of the Students’ Movement for Democracy (SMD), he performed an visit study tour along the eastern borders, next to Vietnam. The SMD clearly observed the loss of borders which are part of Cambodia’s territorial integrity due to Vietnamese violations, almost everywhere, and in particular in the Phnom Prochiev area, located along the border in Kampot province; in the southern area of the province of Takeo; in the area of Pak Nam in Kandal prince, the entire island of Koh Ta Mao was lost; in Kampong Cham province, several areas were lost; in Snuol, Kratie province, large swath of Cambodian territories were lost, therefore, the claim made by Hun Sen saying that Cambodia did not lose any territory is nothing but a lie to deceive not only to himself, but also the entire Cambodian public.
Ear Channa confirmed that his group visited Cambodian victims living along the borders who lost their lands due to Vietnamese aggression, and he said that his group of students visited those areas several times, each time with a group of 50 to 80 students. However, the armed Vietnamese border guards always prevented the students from entering the areas lost by Cambodia, and they were also forbidden from taking pictures showing the truth in these areas as well.
Mr. Sean Pengse, President of the Paris-based Cambodia’s Border Committee, said that in the Cambodian maps deposited that the UN in 1955, there was no indication of so-called “white zones” (disputed border areas). The “white zones” issues raised by the neighboring countries are nothing more than a prevention to stop Cambodian people from entering these special zones along the border. These “white zones” were created stemming from the successive agreements signed by Hun Sen’s regime with neighboring countries, in particular, the border treaties with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1979, 1982-1983, 1985, and more recently in 2005.
Mr. Sean Pengse declared that these white zones are lost territories as far as Cambodia is concerned, because Vietnam and Thailand can do whatever they want in these zones, but Cambodia cannot. Therefore, these are loss territories, and the most blatant case is the Ta Moan Temple which belonged to Cambodia in the past, and it was recognized as such by local people living there, but nowadays, when Thailand proceeds to repair this temple, Cambodia does not even dare say anything at all. Furthermore, Thailand decided that a border road is the borderline, whereas during the French protectorate era, this road belonged to Cambodia, and now Cambodia is not allowed to touch this road at all, therefore, this territory is lost. He said that based on his study, Vietnam encroaches about 40 square-km into Cambodia in the province of Ratanakiri.
Mr. Sean Pengse, the former Minister of Industry, Mining, and Energy of the Khmer Republic regime, claimed that because of Hun Sen’s treaties with neighboring countries, Cambodia also lost a large extent of its maritime territories. Mr. Sean Pengse said: “Cambodia signed a recognition of the border treaty in 1982, and this led to the loss of 30,000-square-km (of our seas), Cambodia also recognized that the Krachak Ses and Koh Tral (Phu Quoc) Islands belong to Vietnam, that was why Vietnam took 10,000-square-km of our seas and turned it into historical waters (to be shared by both countries)… Following the conclusion of the 1982 agreement, Vietnam concluded a treaty with Thailand allowing the latter to occupy about 30,000-square-km of Cambodian seas. Cambodia originally had 95,000-square-km of seas, but Vietnam took away 30,000-square-km, and Thailand took another 30,0000-square-km, so Cambodia is left with about 35,000-square-km of seas only.”
Mr. Sean Pengse calls on Hun Sen’s regime to protect and defend our ancestral territories, and he said that is a good thing that Hun Sen claimed that he can protect our lands, however, Hun Sen’s government should also protect the land and maritime territories as prescribed by the maps deposited by Cambodia at the UN in 1955 as well. Otherwise, Cambodia will surely lose its lands, and those losses can be blamed on Hun Sen’s conclusions of agreements with neighboring countries starting from 1979 and extending until 2005.
The Cambodian government deposited maps at the UN in 1955 which indicates that its lands juxtapose with the Vietnamese borders along a length of 1,230 km, the Lao borders along a length of 540 km, and the Thai borders along a length of 804 km. The maritime borders with Vietnam and Thailand extend over a length of 507 km, if measured according to actual border delineation, however, this length is 215 km if measured along straight line.
Civil society, the opposition party and the general public used to criticize the Hun Sen regime which allowed the loss of Cambodian territories, beginning from the 80s when it allowed neighboring countries to move their borders inside Cambodian territories from all directions. However, Hun Sen declared recently that “Based on their propaganda, maybe the current Cambodian borders would be located in Pursat province, and from the east, it would be located at Kampong Chhnang, therefore, the Cambodian borders all disappeared… but Khmer in Koh Thom are witnesses, those who live and are born here in the past, their number still remains the same.”
In response to Hun Sen’s statement regarding the border issue, Ear Channa, the CWCI Secretary-general, said from Norway that, 2 or 3 years ago, he visited the areas where Cambodia lost its territories. He said that in 2004-2005, while he was the deputy Secretary-general of the Students’ Movement for Democracy (SMD), he performed an visit study tour along the eastern borders, next to Vietnam. The SMD clearly observed the loss of borders which are part of Cambodia’s territorial integrity due to Vietnamese violations, almost everywhere, and in particular in the Phnom Prochiev area, located along the border in Kampot province; in the southern area of the province of Takeo; in the area of Pak Nam in Kandal prince, the entire island of Koh Ta Mao was lost; in Kampong Cham province, several areas were lost; in Snuol, Kratie province, large swath of Cambodian territories were lost, therefore, the claim made by Hun Sen saying that Cambodia did not lose any territory is nothing but a lie to deceive not only to himself, but also the entire Cambodian public.
Ear Channa confirmed that his group visited Cambodian victims living along the borders who lost their lands due to Vietnamese aggression, and he said that his group of students visited those areas several times, each time with a group of 50 to 80 students. However, the armed Vietnamese border guards always prevented the students from entering the areas lost by Cambodia, and they were also forbidden from taking pictures showing the truth in these areas as well.
Mr. Sean Pengse, President of the Paris-based Cambodia’s Border Committee, said that in the Cambodian maps deposited that the UN in 1955, there was no indication of so-called “white zones” (disputed border areas). The “white zones” issues raised by the neighboring countries are nothing more than a prevention to stop Cambodian people from entering these special zones along the border. These “white zones” were created stemming from the successive agreements signed by Hun Sen’s regime with neighboring countries, in particular, the border treaties with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1979, 1982-1983, 1985, and more recently in 2005.
Mr. Sean Pengse declared that these white zones are lost territories as far as Cambodia is concerned, because Vietnam and Thailand can do whatever they want in these zones, but Cambodia cannot. Therefore, these are loss territories, and the most blatant case is the Ta Moan Temple which belonged to Cambodia in the past, and it was recognized as such by local people living there, but nowadays, when Thailand proceeds to repair this temple, Cambodia does not even dare say anything at all. Furthermore, Thailand decided that a border road is the borderline, whereas during the French protectorate era, this road belonged to Cambodia, and now Cambodia is not allowed to touch this road at all, therefore, this territory is lost. He said that based on his study, Vietnam encroaches about 40 square-km into Cambodia in the province of Ratanakiri.
Mr. Sean Pengse, the former Minister of Industry, Mining, and Energy of the Khmer Republic regime, claimed that because of Hun Sen’s treaties with neighboring countries, Cambodia also lost a large extent of its maritime territories. Mr. Sean Pengse said: “Cambodia signed a recognition of the border treaty in 1982, and this led to the loss of 30,000-square-km (of our seas), Cambodia also recognized that the Krachak Ses and Koh Tral (Phu Quoc) Islands belong to Vietnam, that was why Vietnam took 10,000-square-km of our seas and turned it into historical waters (to be shared by both countries)… Following the conclusion of the 1982 agreement, Vietnam concluded a treaty with Thailand allowing the latter to occupy about 30,000-square-km of Cambodian seas. Cambodia originally had 95,000-square-km of seas, but Vietnam took away 30,000-square-km, and Thailand took another 30,0000-square-km, so Cambodia is left with about 35,000-square-km of seas only.”
Mr. Sean Pengse calls on Hun Sen’s regime to protect and defend our ancestral territories, and he said that is a good thing that Hun Sen claimed that he can protect our lands, however, Hun Sen’s government should also protect the land and maritime territories as prescribed by the maps deposited by Cambodia at the UN in 1955 as well. Otherwise, Cambodia will surely lose its lands, and those losses can be blamed on Hun Sen’s conclusions of agreements with neighboring countries starting from 1979 and extending until 2005.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Hun Sen rejects border criticisms
27 February 2008By Keo Nimol Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
Prime minister Hun Sen rejected various criticisms saying that under his rule, neighboring countries are moving their borders inside Cambodian territories on a daily basis.
In a speech given at a religious festival in Koh Thom district, Kandal province, on 27 February, Hun Sen said: “They say that, each day, Vietnam moves (the border) by 1-meter, or 10-meter, or 100-meter, that Thailand moves (the border) by 1-meter, or 10-meter, or 100-meter. I think that based on their propaganda, maybe, by now, all the Cambodian borders have already vanished. I say that these propagandas are sometimes made to degrade our people, to degrade our own race. About the topic of land sales to foreigners, I think that it is pitiful, and it is a topic that degrades our own race.”
Kem Sokha, the HRP president who recently criticized the draft law that would allow foreigners to have the rights to own lands, said in response to Hun Sen comments that: “There are (border) changes based on reports from our people, and these did not come from a single person, there were many places where the borders have changed, indeed these changes are taking place in some areas, such as in Takeo province, people have told us this also, and also in Kampong Cham province, people talk about it, I also received the same information from people living in Ratanakiri province as well.”
Son Chhay, a member of the National Assembly permanent committee and a member of the SRP, said about this issue: “Talking about the moving of borders (into Cambodian territories), in some areas, they are moved in by 5 km, 10 km, 8 km, this is what the (border) experts confirmed based on maps internationally recognized. In the past we saw already that in 1994 we declared “white zones” (no-man’s land) along our borders with neighboring countries, and these white zones led us to lose a portion of our lands along the borders. It is necessary that there must be technical reviews made so that all the Cambodian people are satisfied with (these borders).”
In the past, the Paris-based Cambodia Border’s Committee (CBC) led by Mr. Sean Pengse used to distribute communiqués accusing the violations of Cambodian territories by neighboring countries, and the CBC demanded that the Cambodian authority cancel all the border treaties concluded between 1980 and 1993 also.
In a speech given at a religious festival in Koh Thom district, Kandal province, on 27 February, Hun Sen said: “They say that, each day, Vietnam moves (the border) by 1-meter, or 10-meter, or 100-meter, that Thailand moves (the border) by 1-meter, or 10-meter, or 100-meter. I think that based on their propaganda, maybe, by now, all the Cambodian borders have already vanished. I say that these propagandas are sometimes made to degrade our people, to degrade our own race. About the topic of land sales to foreigners, I think that it is pitiful, and it is a topic that degrades our own race.”
Kem Sokha, the HRP president who recently criticized the draft law that would allow foreigners to have the rights to own lands, said in response to Hun Sen comments that: “There are (border) changes based on reports from our people, and these did not come from a single person, there were many places where the borders have changed, indeed these changes are taking place in some areas, such as in Takeo province, people have told us this also, and also in Kampong Cham province, people talk about it, I also received the same information from people living in Ratanakiri province as well.”
Son Chhay, a member of the National Assembly permanent committee and a member of the SRP, said about this issue: “Talking about the moving of borders (into Cambodian territories), in some areas, they are moved in by 5 km, 10 km, 8 km, this is what the (border) experts confirmed based on maps internationally recognized. In the past we saw already that in 1994 we declared “white zones” (no-man’s land) along our borders with neighboring countries, and these white zones led us to lose a portion of our lands along the borders. It is necessary that there must be technical reviews made so that all the Cambodian people are satisfied with (these borders).”
In the past, the Paris-based Cambodia Border’s Committee (CBC) led by Mr. Sean Pengse used to distribute communiqués accusing the violations of Cambodian territories by neighboring countries, and the CBC demanded that the Cambodian authority cancel all the border treaties concluded between 1980 and 1993 also.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Half of 2.4 Million Vietnamese Immigrants Said Given IDs by Cambodian Authority
16 Nov 07
By Koet Samrech
Moneakseka Khmer
Translated from Khmer and posted online
By Koet Samrech
Moneakseka Khmer
Translated from Khmer and posted online
The commission for the census and registration of aliens living in Cambodia headed by Interior Ministry State Secretary Em Sam-an has started the census and registration of the aliens living in Cambodia since October 2006. So far more than a year has already elapsed but the commission has yet to show the result of the aliens' census and registration. Not just that, Interior Minister Sar Kheng seemed somewhat unwilling to show the number of aliens living in Cambodia, either legally and illegally.
A high-ranked Interior Ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity said that the Interior Ministry might show the figures of the aliens living in Cambodia after the fourth national election to be held on 27 July 2008. The reason is that if these figures are revealed now the Cambodian People's Party [CPP] could be at a disadvantage because most of the aliens living in Cambodia are Vietnamese nationals who have illegally entered Cambodia and are supporters of the CPP. Besides, the majority of these Vietnamese immigrants have already voted for the CPP on several occasions so that they can live and work on Cambodian soil peacefully.
This high-ranked Interior Ministry official disclosed that the commission for the census and registration of aliens headed by Em Sam-an has conducted the census and registration of aliens in a number of provinces/cities where many aliens live. The work of this commission has led to the finding that the overwhelming majority of aliens living in Cambodia are Vietnamese immigrants. For this reason, the commission is afraid to publicly announce the result of the census. If the Interior Ministry dares to publicize the result of the census and registration of the aliens soon, various political parties and observers might question the political principles of the CPP in protecting the Vietnamese immigrants.
It should be noted that in May and June 2006 a Vietnamese magazine published that there were 300,000 Vietnamese nationals living in Cambodia. In making this announcement maybe this magazine wanted to point out that the Vietnamese immigrants can come and live in Cambodia freely. But almost immediately, the spokesman of the Interior Ministry claimed that there were only about 100,000 Vietnamese immigrants living in this country. The Interior Ministry spokesman's claim came under strong criticisms of many circles, which said that this was an intention to cover up the number of Vietnamese living in Cambodia because these Vietnamese have voted for the CPP.
A few months ago the Vietnamese association in Cambodia affirmed that a little more than 100,000 Vietnamese nationals lived in Cambodia and half of them had documents recognized by the Cambodian authority. Such a claim made by the Vietnamese association drew criticisms from a number of observers who said that the Cambodian authority cares more about the Vietnamese immigrants than about its own citizens. As a matter of fact, 50 percent of the Vietnamese immigrants living in Cambodia have documents recognized by the Cambodian authority while a large number of Cambodians have not yet been recognized by the Cambodian authority.
Independent observers said that there are from 2 to 4 million Vietnamese immigrants in Cambodian these days, not just 300,000 as published by the Vietnamese magazine or just 100,000 as claimed by the Interior Ministry spokesman and the chairman of the Vietnamese association. To really know if it is true that millions of Vietnamese are living in Cambodia one needs to go look at the Chba Ampeou area in Meanchey district, Phnom Penh, and the Chhnok Tru area of Kampong Chhnang province. There, one is certain to be able to evaluate the real number of Vietnamese in Cambodia. This is because in both places the Vietnamese immigrants are living like colonies of ants and most of them carry papers recognized by the Cambodian authority.
The independent observers further said that at present more Vietnamese are continuing to pour into Cambodia in an anarchic mass through the border gates adjacent to Vietnam, especially through the Bavet border pass. These Vietnamese immigrants come in and take shelter under the label of the big Vietnamese association in Phnom Penh and its chapters in 19 Cambodian provinces and cities. The authorities at the border do not care about the future impact to the national society. They care only about lining their own pockets with bribes.
Some political figures have expressed great worry to see the influx of Vietnamese immigrants into Cambodia that looks like the current from a broken dam. The children of some Vietnamese immigrants are learning the Cambodian language and literature and are better read than most Cambodian children, the owners of the country. They are seeking to learn and understand the Cambodian culture, tradition, and mores in depth. Therefore, in the future, these Vietnamese kids will become Cambodian officials, civil servants, members of Parliament, and maybe senior government leaders.
These political figures noted that the fact that the Vietnamese association has opened courses to teach the Cambodian language and literature to its people who are living on Cambodian soil shows that the Vietnamese are having a specific scheme afoot. Our saying this should not be taken as racial discrimination or an attempt at breaking up the longstanding Cambodian-Vietnamese friendship. It is just an expression of concern, for the presence of millions of Vietnamese immigrants in Cambodia is not something good.
Recently the Cambodian Government headed by the megalomaniac Prime Minister Hun Sen was seriously thinking about resolving the border problem with Vietnam to the point that it set a time frame for the implantation of the border markers between the two countries to be completed by the end of 2008. As for the settlement of the immigration issue that is so vital to the survival of Cambodia, Hun Sen does not care to resolve it anytime soon.
A high-ranked Interior Ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity said that the Interior Ministry might show the figures of the aliens living in Cambodia after the fourth national election to be held on 27 July 2008. The reason is that if these figures are revealed now the Cambodian People's Party [CPP] could be at a disadvantage because most of the aliens living in Cambodia are Vietnamese nationals who have illegally entered Cambodia and are supporters of the CPP. Besides, the majority of these Vietnamese immigrants have already voted for the CPP on several occasions so that they can live and work on Cambodian soil peacefully.
This high-ranked Interior Ministry official disclosed that the commission for the census and registration of aliens headed by Em Sam-an has conducted the census and registration of aliens in a number of provinces/cities where many aliens live. The work of this commission has led to the finding that the overwhelming majority of aliens living in Cambodia are Vietnamese immigrants. For this reason, the commission is afraid to publicly announce the result of the census. If the Interior Ministry dares to publicize the result of the census and registration of the aliens soon, various political parties and observers might question the political principles of the CPP in protecting the Vietnamese immigrants.
It should be noted that in May and June 2006 a Vietnamese magazine published that there were 300,000 Vietnamese nationals living in Cambodia. In making this announcement maybe this magazine wanted to point out that the Vietnamese immigrants can come and live in Cambodia freely. But almost immediately, the spokesman of the Interior Ministry claimed that there were only about 100,000 Vietnamese immigrants living in this country. The Interior Ministry spokesman's claim came under strong criticisms of many circles, which said that this was an intention to cover up the number of Vietnamese living in Cambodia because these Vietnamese have voted for the CPP.
A few months ago the Vietnamese association in Cambodia affirmed that a little more than 100,000 Vietnamese nationals lived in Cambodia and half of them had documents recognized by the Cambodian authority. Such a claim made by the Vietnamese association drew criticisms from a number of observers who said that the Cambodian authority cares more about the Vietnamese immigrants than about its own citizens. As a matter of fact, 50 percent of the Vietnamese immigrants living in Cambodia have documents recognized by the Cambodian authority while a large number of Cambodians have not yet been recognized by the Cambodian authority.
Independent observers said that there are from 2 to 4 million Vietnamese immigrants in Cambodian these days, not just 300,000 as published by the Vietnamese magazine or just 100,000 as claimed by the Interior Ministry spokesman and the chairman of the Vietnamese association. To really know if it is true that millions of Vietnamese are living in Cambodia one needs to go look at the Chba Ampeou area in Meanchey district, Phnom Penh, and the Chhnok Tru area of Kampong Chhnang province. There, one is certain to be able to evaluate the real number of Vietnamese in Cambodia. This is because in both places the Vietnamese immigrants are living like colonies of ants and most of them carry papers recognized by the Cambodian authority.
The independent observers further said that at present more Vietnamese are continuing to pour into Cambodia in an anarchic mass through the border gates adjacent to Vietnam, especially through the Bavet border pass. These Vietnamese immigrants come in and take shelter under the label of the big Vietnamese association in Phnom Penh and its chapters in 19 Cambodian provinces and cities. The authorities at the border do not care about the future impact to the national society. They care only about lining their own pockets with bribes.
Some political figures have expressed great worry to see the influx of Vietnamese immigrants into Cambodia that looks like the current from a broken dam. The children of some Vietnamese immigrants are learning the Cambodian language and literature and are better read than most Cambodian children, the owners of the country. They are seeking to learn and understand the Cambodian culture, tradition, and mores in depth. Therefore, in the future, these Vietnamese kids will become Cambodian officials, civil servants, members of Parliament, and maybe senior government leaders.
These political figures noted that the fact that the Vietnamese association has opened courses to teach the Cambodian language and literature to its people who are living on Cambodian soil shows that the Vietnamese are having a specific scheme afoot. Our saying this should not be taken as racial discrimination or an attempt at breaking up the longstanding Cambodian-Vietnamese friendship. It is just an expression of concern, for the presence of millions of Vietnamese immigrants in Cambodia is not something good.
Recently the Cambodian Government headed by the megalomaniac Prime Minister Hun Sen was seriously thinking about resolving the border problem with Vietnam to the point that it set a time frame for the implantation of the border markers between the two countries to be completed by the end of 2008. As for the settlement of the immigration issue that is so vital to the survival of Cambodia, Hun Sen does not care to resolve it anytime soon.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Vietnam to develop border area with Cambodia [-Could this project be developed in disputed areas near Svay Rieng?]
September 05, 2007
Vietnam has approved a decision on the development of a border gate economic zone in the southern Tay Ninh province, bordering Cambodia, into an international trading center, the newspaper Vietnam News reported Wednesday.
Under the decision, the development project of Moc Bai border gate economic zone, which covers some 21,300 hectares, bordering Cambodia to the west, will include trading and industrial zones, an administrative management zone, an international border checkpoint, urban and residential areas, and tourism and services project.
The trading and industrial zones are non-tariff areas. All imports to and exports from the trading and industrial zones are exempt from import, export and value-added taxes. As for commodities and services that are liable to special consumption tax, they will not be subject to the tax if they are produced or sold in the zones or exported abroad, said the paper.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese or foreign organizations and individuals, having investment projects, production, business and services in the trading and industrial zones, will be exempt from corporate income tax in the first four years.
Source: Xinhua
Under the decision, the development project of Moc Bai border gate economic zone, which covers some 21,300 hectares, bordering Cambodia to the west, will include trading and industrial zones, an administrative management zone, an international border checkpoint, urban and residential areas, and tourism and services project.
The trading and industrial zones are non-tariff areas. All imports to and exports from the trading and industrial zones are exempt from import, export and value-added taxes. As for commodities and services that are liable to special consumption tax, they will not be subject to the tax if they are produced or sold in the zones or exported abroad, said the paper.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese or foreign organizations and individuals, having investment projects, production, business and services in the trading and industrial zones, will be exempt from corporate income tax in the first four years.
Source: Xinhua
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Opposition Urges Lao Cooperation on Terrorism, Trafficking [and an end to border dispute]
Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
07 August 2007
Original report from Phnom Penh
07 August 2007
Opposition lawmaker Son Chhay on Tuesday urged leaders of an impending Lao delegation to help Cambodia combat terrorism and drug trafficking across a shared border.
The request came one day ahead of an official visit by Lao President Choummaly Sayasone.
"First, border demarcation between Laos and Cambodia must end: meaning that Laos must end obstacles like those in the past," said Son Chhay, who is chairman of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee. "Second, we want to see effective cooperation in the field of combating drug trafficking."
Var Kim Hong, chairman of the government's border committee, told the National Assembly recently that Cambodia has planted more than 100 posts along 540 kilometers of border, finishing about 85 percent of the work.
The request came one day ahead of an official visit by Lao President Choummaly Sayasone.
"First, border demarcation between Laos and Cambodia must end: meaning that Laos must end obstacles like those in the past," said Son Chhay, who is chairman of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee. "Second, we want to see effective cooperation in the field of combating drug trafficking."
Var Kim Hong, chairman of the government's border committee, told the National Assembly recently that Cambodia has planted more than 100 posts along 540 kilometers of border, finishing about 85 percent of the work.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Cambodia is held hostage by Thailand because of border disputes
August 03, 2007
Border issues stall ADB Thai electricity project
Border issues stall ADB Thai electricity project
An Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded plan to supply Thai electricity through Banteay Meanchey province's Poipet commune to Siem Reap province has reportedly stalled, with an Electricity du Cambodge (EDC) official citing a border demarcation dispute as the cause, Cambodian-language newspaper the Koh Santepheap reported on Friday.
Electricity poles along National Road 6 from Siem Reap to the Poipet border crossing have already been planted, "but we have not connected to the Thai electric power network yet," said Sem Korsen, Siem Reap Provincial Electricity Director.
Sem Korsen failed to disclose the specific causes of the negative results, just saying it is a top level issue.
Meanwhile, EDC Distribution Director Chea Sinhel told the paper that the problem is at a national level.
"This is a political issue between the countries. It is related to the border issue (white area), which has not been resolved," Sinhel said, adding that "this is the reason electric polls cannot be constructed through the border to connect with Thai electricity network."
Last week, Cambodian journalists who attended a forum in Thailand's Sraskeo province's Aranh district asked Thai government advisors about the issue but they just responded that it would be discussed with their government.
No source has so far been able to advise when the network will come online, while Siem Reap residents are complaining of high costs and frequent outages.
The Asian Development Bank has lent 8 million U.S. dollars to Cambodia to establish the grid to deal with power shortages in the northwestern provinces of the country in bid to boost the growth of tourism, agriculture and industry.
Source: Xinhua
Electricity poles along National Road 6 from Siem Reap to the Poipet border crossing have already been planted, "but we have not connected to the Thai electric power network yet," said Sem Korsen, Siem Reap Provincial Electricity Director.
Sem Korsen failed to disclose the specific causes of the negative results, just saying it is a top level issue.
Meanwhile, EDC Distribution Director Chea Sinhel told the paper that the problem is at a national level.
"This is a political issue between the countries. It is related to the border issue (white area), which has not been resolved," Sinhel said, adding that "this is the reason electric polls cannot be constructed through the border to connect with Thai electricity network."
Last week, Cambodian journalists who attended a forum in Thailand's Sraskeo province's Aranh district asked Thai government advisors about the issue but they just responded that it would be discussed with their government.
No source has so far been able to advise when the network will come online, while Siem Reap residents are complaining of high costs and frequent outages.
The Asian Development Bank has lent 8 million U.S. dollars to Cambodia to establish the grid to deal with power shortages in the northwestern provinces of the country in bid to boost the growth of tourism, agriculture and industry.
Source: Xinhua
Monday, July 30, 2007
Hun Sen big words but little action: If Thailand closes the border gate one more time, it will be closed forever
Hun Sen: If Thailand closes the border gate one more time, it will be closed foreverMonday, July 30, 2007
Koh Santepheap newspaper
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
The plan to end the dependence on Thailand at the Preah Vihear Temple area was decided by a recommendation made by prime minister Hun Sen during a council of minister meeting held at the end of last week. Hun Sen ordered the ministry of public works and transportation to immediately study a plan to build two important roads: National Road 10 from Battambang province to Pailin city, and the road from Kompong Thom province to the area of the Preah Vihear temple.
This revelation of this information caused Cambodian people who live in the Preah Vihear Temple to rejoice, it is also good news for all Cambodian people regarding the possibility of a good road in the future so they can easily visit the temple on top on Dangrek Mountain, and it will also facilitate the transport of goods to this region.
Currently, this region always faces hardship each time the border gate is repeatedly ordered closed by a unilateral decision, because food and even water must be bought from Thailand. Hun Sen discussed about the Thai side which closed the border gate at the Preah Vihear Temple, by warning that if the gate is closed one more time, it will closed forever.
Regarding Preah Vihear Temple, on 24 July, a high-ranking delegation of government officials traveled by helicopter to the temple to visit and perform of a review the temple. The delegation included Ti Yav of the OBSES commission, Var Kim Hong, a high-ranking official in charge of Cambodian border affairs, as well as high-ranking officials from various ministries concerned.
What is noticeable was the presence of a number of embassy officials based in Cambodia, such as the US embassy, Canada, Japan, as well as 30 persons who were officials from various embassies and archeologists. The delegation was protected by border guards under the direction of Long Sovann, the deputy provincial governor.
At the fourth temple, the Cambodian delegation as well as the embassy officials and other visitors, organized a ceremony to pray the spirit of Ta Dy (Grandpa Dy) and Yeay Mao (Grandma Mao) to ask for protection and peace. During the visit, embassy officials and archeologists paid great attention to all temples and stone inscriptions. Next, the delegation traveled down from the temple to visit the border gate to Thailand, located next to the first temple. They held discussions at the border gate office for about half an hour before concluding the visit.
UNESCO will officially announce the listing of Preah Vihear Temple as a World Heritage site next year. Earlier, the Thai side demanded also that the portion of the temple located in Thailand be included as well, and they also demanded that border disputes be resolved. Nevertheless, Hor Namhong, minister of foreign affairs, told UNESCO members that the request to list Preah Vihear Temple as a World Heritage site is not involved with the border problems, and that this request was made only under the sovereignty of Cambodia on the temples which constitute Cambodian heritage. The request to include Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site was supported by the US ambassador in Cambodia.
This revelation of this information caused Cambodian people who live in the Preah Vihear Temple to rejoice, it is also good news for all Cambodian people regarding the possibility of a good road in the future so they can easily visit the temple on top on Dangrek Mountain, and it will also facilitate the transport of goods to this region.
Currently, this region always faces hardship each time the border gate is repeatedly ordered closed by a unilateral decision, because food and even water must be bought from Thailand. Hun Sen discussed about the Thai side which closed the border gate at the Preah Vihear Temple, by warning that if the gate is closed one more time, it will closed forever.
Regarding Preah Vihear Temple, on 24 July, a high-ranking delegation of government officials traveled by helicopter to the temple to visit and perform of a review the temple. The delegation included Ti Yav of the OBSES commission, Var Kim Hong, a high-ranking official in charge of Cambodian border affairs, as well as high-ranking officials from various ministries concerned.
What is noticeable was the presence of a number of embassy officials based in Cambodia, such as the US embassy, Canada, Japan, as well as 30 persons who were officials from various embassies and archeologists. The delegation was protected by border guards under the direction of Long Sovann, the deputy provincial governor.
At the fourth temple, the Cambodian delegation as well as the embassy officials and other visitors, organized a ceremony to pray the spirit of Ta Dy (Grandpa Dy) and Yeay Mao (Grandma Mao) to ask for protection and peace. During the visit, embassy officials and archeologists paid great attention to all temples and stone inscriptions. Next, the delegation traveled down from the temple to visit the border gate to Thailand, located next to the first temple. They held discussions at the border gate office for about half an hour before concluding the visit.
UNESCO will officially announce the listing of Preah Vihear Temple as a World Heritage site next year. Earlier, the Thai side demanded also that the portion of the temple located in Thailand be included as well, and they also demanded that border disputes be resolved. Nevertheless, Hor Namhong, minister of foreign affairs, told UNESCO members that the request to list Preah Vihear Temple as a World Heritage site is not involved with the border problems, and that this request was made only under the sovereignty of Cambodia on the temples which constitute Cambodian heritage. The request to include Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site was supported by the US ambassador in Cambodia.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Cambodia blames landmines on its inability to resolve border disputes with Thailand
Mines Remain Obstacle to Border Solution, Official Says
Cheab Mony, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
26 July 2007
Cheab Mony, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
26 July 2007
Border officials consider the legacy of landmines the main obstacle to the settling of border disputes with Thailand.
Cambodia should be able to solve these problems, a border official said Thursday, in a way similar to that in 2006, when Cambodia and Vietnam began demarking their borders, marking their shared border with 370 poles so far.
"The landmine issue is serious with Thailand," said Var Kimhong, chairman of the Cambodia-Vietnam Joint Border Commission, who attended a hearing at the National Assembly Thursday. "In 1999 we started talks with Thailand to mark our border. The government does not prolong the issue, to have peace, but the landmine issue has not been changed. We have to be careful. We have difficulty with Thailand with the landmine issue."
Cambodia's border with its neighbors is a rankling issue for many politicians and citizens, who fear encroachment from both Vietnam and Thailand. Meanwhile, Cambodia remains one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, despite years of efforts by the government and other agencies.
Opposition lawmaker Son Chhay, who is head of the National Assembly's committee for foreign affairs, said following Var Kimhong's statements to the press that Cambodia will push demining agencies to rid the western borders of landmines.
Khem Sophoan, director of the Cambodia Mine Action Center, said he could not predict when all the mines might be cleared from the 800-km Thai border.
Cambodia should be able to solve these problems, a border official said Thursday, in a way similar to that in 2006, when Cambodia and Vietnam began demarking their borders, marking their shared border with 370 poles so far.
"The landmine issue is serious with Thailand," said Var Kimhong, chairman of the Cambodia-Vietnam Joint Border Commission, who attended a hearing at the National Assembly Thursday. "In 1999 we started talks with Thailand to mark our border. The government does not prolong the issue, to have peace, but the landmine issue has not been changed. We have to be careful. We have difficulty with Thailand with the landmine issue."
Cambodia's border with its neighbors is a rankling issue for many politicians and citizens, who fear encroachment from both Vietnam and Thailand. Meanwhile, Cambodia remains one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, despite years of efforts by the government and other agencies.
Opposition lawmaker Son Chhay, who is head of the National Assembly's committee for foreign affairs, said following Var Kimhong's statements to the press that Cambodia will push demining agencies to rid the western borders of landmines.
Khem Sophoan, director of the Cambodia Mine Action Center, said he could not predict when all the mines might be cleared from the 800-km Thai border.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Thailand supports Preah Vihear to be World Heritage site, but .... border has not been demarcated yet and Thailand now wants joint management
Thailand supports Preah Vihear shrine to be World Heritage : FM
Fri, June 29, 2007
by Marisa Chimprabha
The Nation
Fri, June 29, 2007
by Marisa Chimprabha
The Nation
Thai authorities support in principle the ancient Hindu shrine of Preah Vihear being listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site, but there are some unsettled issues regarding the shrine.
Cambodia wants the temple, which lies on its north-west border with Thailand, to be recognised as a World Heritage monument to help assure its continued preservation.
Unesco's World Heritage Committee met recently and suspended a decision on Cambodia's request.
The decision came after Thailand argued that the Thai-Cambodian border has yet to be demarcated and a joint management plan for the area is still being discussed.
The Unesco panel asked both countries to resolve the unsettled issues first and suggested that Cambodia re-submit its request next year.
"We have no objection to Preah Vihear shrine being a World Heritage Site. We support in principle Phnom Penh's request. We hope that the unsettled issues can be solved and the request be put forward for approval again next year," Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said yesterday.
The Unesco decision to delay the Cambodian request has put Thai authorities on alert. They fear the issue may be exploited to stir anti-Thai sentiment among Cambodians and that recent history might repeat itself.
In 2003 anti-Thai riots erupted, mainly in Phnom Penh, after Cambodian media repeatedly published rumours that a Thai actress had made derogatory remarks against the Cambodian people. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen fuelled the situation by directly confirming the rumours. Hundreds of Cambodians went on a rampage, looting and attacking Thai-owned businesses and the Thai Embassy.
A senior intelligence source said the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh held an urgent meeting of Thai nationals in Cambodia last week to go over an evacuation plan after it was informed of the government's position on the Unesco matter.
However Tharit dismissed this, saying it was just a routine meeting between the embassy and Thai nationals living in Cambodia.
The Cambodian government has, over recent years, renewed its effort to have Unesco classify the ancient Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage Site.
Cambodia wants the temple, which lies on its north-west border with Thailand, to be recognised as a World Heritage monument to help assure its continued preservation.
Unesco's World Heritage Committee met recently and suspended a decision on Cambodia's request.
The decision came after Thailand argued that the Thai-Cambodian border has yet to be demarcated and a joint management plan for the area is still being discussed.
The Unesco panel asked both countries to resolve the unsettled issues first and suggested that Cambodia re-submit its request next year.
"We have no objection to Preah Vihear shrine being a World Heritage Site. We support in principle Phnom Penh's request. We hope that the unsettled issues can be solved and the request be put forward for approval again next year," Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said yesterday.
The Unesco decision to delay the Cambodian request has put Thai authorities on alert. They fear the issue may be exploited to stir anti-Thai sentiment among Cambodians and that recent history might repeat itself.
In 2003 anti-Thai riots erupted, mainly in Phnom Penh, after Cambodian media repeatedly published rumours that a Thai actress had made derogatory remarks against the Cambodian people. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen fuelled the situation by directly confirming the rumours. Hundreds of Cambodians went on a rampage, looting and attacking Thai-owned businesses and the Thai Embassy.
A senior intelligence source said the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh held an urgent meeting of Thai nationals in Cambodia last week to go over an evacuation plan after it was informed of the government's position on the Unesco matter.
However Tharit dismissed this, saying it was just a routine meeting between the embassy and Thai nationals living in Cambodia.
The Cambodian government has, over recent years, renewed its effort to have Unesco classify the ancient Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage Site.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Problems encountered in the installation of border markers in Ratanakiri [- More VN encroachments into Cambodia]
20 May 2007
By Ratha Visal
Radio Free Asia (a station labeled insolent by Hun Sen)
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
Up to now, even though there is an attempt to resolve this issue in order to install the border markers, officials from the Cambodian National Border Committee said that both sides have not come up to an agreement on a common point for delimitation yet.
Var Kim Hong, president of the Cambodian National Border Committee said that the lack of decision results from technical problems where the two sides want to find a correct location to install this new historical border.
Var Kim Hong said: “It’s not because we have maps that we can delimit the border, sometimes Ah Barang (derogatory remark for “the French”) they produce the map just to get over with, but they cannot be used, for example, it is not clear cut, this is not an error from our part. This causes difficulties to look for the separation.”
Since 1996, following the successive border disputes along the borderlines where troops were installed, the authorities from the 2 countries, and the two governments agreed that the zones occupied by each side will be temporarily preserved, and the disputed zones will be considered as “white zones” which will be discussed, resolved, and agreed upon by the border technical groups from the 2 countries.
Nevertheless, at the Vietnam-Cambodia international gate in O’Yadaw district, local population and authorities reported several instances of violation by the Vietnamese which encroached into Cambodia to clear forests, move their surveillance border posts inside the white zone, an area where both sides are prevented from penetrating into.
Son Chhay, the SRP chairman of Committee No. 5 of the National Assembly, said that there are numerous other instances of violation along the borderline in Ratanakiri province which involve the building of roads (in the white zone), and the unilateral installation of border markers by the Vietnamese side (without any consultation with Cambodia). Son Chhay said that these actions also violate the treaty which was recently signed between Cambodia and the Vietnamese government. “Vietnam builds roads (in the white zones) day and night along a borderline which it considers as its border, it installs small border markers also.”
During a visit to 2 provinces in Vietnam last January, Son Chhay said that the Vietnamese authority plans to open 5 more gates: 3 in Mondolkiri, and 2 in Ratanakiri.
If there is no prior agreement on the installation of border makers, Cambodia will suffer significant losses of territories to Vietnam as the later can claim that the border gates it will build constitute the borderline.
Son Chhay said: “We have learned about some of the Ratanakiri problems when we visited and met Vietnamese officials. They ask us to be involved in the issue of border gate opening. As long as the (official) border markers have not yet been installed to delimitate Cambodia’s territories, the opening of these border gates will serve to benefit Vietnam’s interest.”
Regarding the Vietnam-Cambodia border issues, RFA observed that local (Cambodian) officials and authorities do not dare comment about them in public even if they are aware of the violations into Cambodia (perpetrated by Vietnam). Public comments by these officials and authorities earn them reprimand from their superiors. Furthermore, the local population does not dare talk about it either for fear for their own safety.
Var Kim Hong stressed that time is not the limiting factor in the resolution of border problems. He said that only the use of technical maps, actual measurements, combined with discussions and agreements without taking advantage of one another, can put to an end this problem. He also said that the Cambodian government does not want to see the loss of lands either. “It’s not like we want to gain anything, we only want to come out even in this resolution, that is, all of us must have the will.”
Nevertheless, Son Chhay said that because of the importance of the political influence Vietnam holds on Cambodian government officials, and combined with a lack of proper equipments needed for measuring the border, this border issue has dragged on for a long time and Cambodia will lose even more lands and waters due to the Vietnamese encroachments into Cambodia.
In February 2007, technical border delimitation teams agreed to set the border limit at the international gate in O’Yadaw district in order to install the new border marker there, however, it ended up in failure as the Cambodia-Vietnam teams do not agree with each other.
Sin Sear Ny, a technical official involved in the border delimitation of the O’Yadaw border gate, refused to comment on this disagreement. However, according to a border defense official, the technical team found out that the Vietnamese side cleared land and installed its border posts inside the Cambodian territory by more than 70-meter from the actual border line. Furthermore, problems are also encountered along 10 kilometers of borderline from the international gate where the Vietnamese encroached more 100-meter into Cambodia territories.
One anonymous border officer at the National Road 78 linking Cambodia to Vietnam, as well as local people living in this area told RFA in the past, that the actual borderline between Cambodia and Vietnam was located several dozens of kilometers away (inside Vietnam) from its current location.
A source informed RFA that another technical group of the Cambodian border delimitation committee will visit Ratanakiri province at the end of May 2007, and it will restart the border delimitation process again.
According to Son Chhay, because of the long delay in the border delimitation, the Royal Government of Cambodia ought to request intervention from international institutions, and it also ought to strengthen the border defense force, and in particular, the government ought to help settle more people to live along the border zone.
By Ratha Visal
Radio Free Asia (a station labeled insolent by Hun Sen)
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
"RFA observed that local (Cambodian) officials and authorities do not dare comment about them (border issues) in public even if they are aware of the violations into Cambodia (perpetrated by Vietnam). Public comments by these officials and authorities earn them reprimand from their superiors. Furthermore, the local population does not dare talk about it either for fear for their own safety."A plan to install border markers between Cambodia and Vietnam at the international gate located in O’Yadaw district, Ratanakiri province, causes concerns to both the Cambodian authorities and population living near this gate.
Up to now, even though there is an attempt to resolve this issue in order to install the border markers, officials from the Cambodian National Border Committee said that both sides have not come up to an agreement on a common point for delimitation yet.
Var Kim Hong, president of the Cambodian National Border Committee said that the lack of decision results from technical problems where the two sides want to find a correct location to install this new historical border.
Var Kim Hong said: “It’s not because we have maps that we can delimit the border, sometimes Ah Barang (derogatory remark for “the French”) they produce the map just to get over with, but they cannot be used, for example, it is not clear cut, this is not an error from our part. This causes difficulties to look for the separation.”
Since 1996, following the successive border disputes along the borderlines where troops were installed, the authorities from the 2 countries, and the two governments agreed that the zones occupied by each side will be temporarily preserved, and the disputed zones will be considered as “white zones” which will be discussed, resolved, and agreed upon by the border technical groups from the 2 countries.
Nevertheless, at the Vietnam-Cambodia international gate in O’Yadaw district, local population and authorities reported several instances of violation by the Vietnamese which encroached into Cambodia to clear forests, move their surveillance border posts inside the white zone, an area where both sides are prevented from penetrating into.
Son Chhay, the SRP chairman of Committee No. 5 of the National Assembly, said that there are numerous other instances of violation along the borderline in Ratanakiri province which involve the building of roads (in the white zone), and the unilateral installation of border markers by the Vietnamese side (without any consultation with Cambodia). Son Chhay said that these actions also violate the treaty which was recently signed between Cambodia and the Vietnamese government. “Vietnam builds roads (in the white zones) day and night along a borderline which it considers as its border, it installs small border markers also.”
During a visit to 2 provinces in Vietnam last January, Son Chhay said that the Vietnamese authority plans to open 5 more gates: 3 in Mondolkiri, and 2 in Ratanakiri.
If there is no prior agreement on the installation of border makers, Cambodia will suffer significant losses of territories to Vietnam as the later can claim that the border gates it will build constitute the borderline.
Son Chhay said: “We have learned about some of the Ratanakiri problems when we visited and met Vietnamese officials. They ask us to be involved in the issue of border gate opening. As long as the (official) border markers have not yet been installed to delimitate Cambodia’s territories, the opening of these border gates will serve to benefit Vietnam’s interest.”
Regarding the Vietnam-Cambodia border issues, RFA observed that local (Cambodian) officials and authorities do not dare comment about them in public even if they are aware of the violations into Cambodia (perpetrated by Vietnam). Public comments by these officials and authorities earn them reprimand from their superiors. Furthermore, the local population does not dare talk about it either for fear for their own safety.
Var Kim Hong stressed that time is not the limiting factor in the resolution of border problems. He said that only the use of technical maps, actual measurements, combined with discussions and agreements without taking advantage of one another, can put to an end this problem. He also said that the Cambodian government does not want to see the loss of lands either. “It’s not like we want to gain anything, we only want to come out even in this resolution, that is, all of us must have the will.”
Nevertheless, Son Chhay said that because of the importance of the political influence Vietnam holds on Cambodian government officials, and combined with a lack of proper equipments needed for measuring the border, this border issue has dragged on for a long time and Cambodia will lose even more lands and waters due to the Vietnamese encroachments into Cambodia.
In February 2007, technical border delimitation teams agreed to set the border limit at the international gate in O’Yadaw district in order to install the new border marker there, however, it ended up in failure as the Cambodia-Vietnam teams do not agree with each other.
Sin Sear Ny, a technical official involved in the border delimitation of the O’Yadaw border gate, refused to comment on this disagreement. However, according to a border defense official, the technical team found out that the Vietnamese side cleared land and installed its border posts inside the Cambodian territory by more than 70-meter from the actual border line. Furthermore, problems are also encountered along 10 kilometers of borderline from the international gate where the Vietnamese encroached more 100-meter into Cambodia territories.
One anonymous border officer at the National Road 78 linking Cambodia to Vietnam, as well as local people living in this area told RFA in the past, that the actual borderline between Cambodia and Vietnam was located several dozens of kilometers away (inside Vietnam) from its current location.
A source informed RFA that another technical group of the Cambodian border delimitation committee will visit Ratanakiri province at the end of May 2007, and it will restart the border delimitation process again.
According to Son Chhay, because of the long delay in the border delimitation, the Royal Government of Cambodia ought to request intervention from international institutions, and it also ought to strengthen the border defense force, and in particular, the government ought to help settle more people to live along the border zone.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Cambodian Border Police Ordered by Vietnamese Authorities Not To Build Houses
How Should Hun Sen Resolve the Border Dispute in O Yadav District, Ratanakiri Province?
30 Apr 07
By Mut Sruoch
Moneakseka Khmer
Translted from Khmer and posted online
This is something that calls for Hun Sen in his capacity as the Prime Minister to resolve as soon as possible so that the Cambodian border defense police in Lom village, O Yadav district, Ratanakiri can build houses for their families to live in because the Vietnamese authorities have obstructed them, shamelessly claiming that the land on which the houses are to be build belongs to them.
According to a report, Cambodian border defense police attached to the station in Lom village, O Yadav district, had plans to build houses inside Cambodian territory some 500-800 meters from the border for their dependents to live in, but the Vietnamese authorities entered Cambodian territory and forbade the Cambodian border defense police to build those houses. These Vietnamese authorities vociferously claimed that the land on which the Cambodian police planned to build their houses was theirs.
The same report further revealed that the deputy chief of the border defense station in Lom village admitted that there was such an incident. He said that from the beginning of April the Vietnamese authorities frequently came over to prohibit them without taking the border between the two countries into consideration.
The deputy station chief in Lom village asserted, "Since the beginning of April 2007, the Vietnamese have frequently come over to forbid us not to build anything at that point, which is located inside Cambodian territory as far as 800 meters from the borderline."
The border of Ratanakiri province is adjacent to the Vietnam's Gia Lai province. Several cases have been reported over the years about the Vietnamese encroachments, moving their outposts into Cambodia and clearing and grading land to build roads and bridges in the White Zone. The constructions from these acts of violation by the Vietnamese side have never been pulled down or moved back.
The police commissioner of Ratanakiri province said that he did authorize the border defense police posted along the border to build houses for their dependents only inside Cambodian territory, which did not affect the currently contentious borderline.
It was reported that when the Vietnamese authorities came in to forbid the construction of the houses by the Cambodian police inside the Cambodian territory, the Ratanakiri provincial authorities did not show up to confront the Vietnamese side in order to find what was right and what as wrong. In other words, the responsible authorities of Ratanakiri province were good only at finding fault with fellow Cambodians and at destroying the forests that now have been reduced almost completely depleted.
In the past, map-confused Va Kimhong whose title is chairman of the committee for resolving border disputes frequently announced forcefully that the Cambodian and Vietnamese sides had agreed to temporarily keep the status quo of the 1997 borderline pending official resolution, delimitation, and border-post planting.
However, since the day Va Kimhong made that assurance, only the Cambodian side has respected the agreement. The Vietnamese side has paid it not the least attention. This means that Cambodia continues to be victim of Vietnamese aggression as before. Although not long ago strongman Hun Sen and Vietnamese Communist Pham Van Khai signed the treaty supplemental to the 1985 state border treaty, border problems between the two countries have not subsided.
Last Saturday, Va Kimhong--Hun Sen's eyes and ears in resolving border problems--claimed that "the technical teams of the Cambodian-Vietnames e border affairs commission have met for about a week in order to find a solution to end the border disputes in Ratanakiri. However, the great Va Kimhong did not reveal any detail."
As a matter of fact, it is rare to see the border violations provoked by the Vietnamese authorities settled on an equal footing. On the contrary, after the Vietnamese authorities have built roads, bridges, outposts, and so on, no matter how deep into Cambodian territory, they never pull them back. Cambodia should feel fortunate that they did not push even deeper.
In such a situation, the local people are puzzled to note that the Cambodian and Vietnamese Prime Ministers have already signed their agreement and the border post planting is in progress but the Vietnamese authorities in Gia Lai province adjacent to O Yadav district Ratanakiri province still continue to be arrogant.
Some reports said that land was cleared and graded to build a road into the White Zone and a bridge was also built inside this White Zone, which is a forbidden area, but not a single Cambodian authority dared to stand up against the Vietnamese.
But when the border defense police had plans to build houses for their families at a spot 800 meters from the border, the Vietnamese side insolently told us to stop all activities by claiming that the piece of land was theirs.
Monitors have said that the Vietnamese side never has any good intention toward Cambodia. Hun Sen, who is chairman of the national authority in charge of border affairs, should take the initiative to go to Ratanakiri province and find a solution to the problem in O Yadav once and for all. The person responsible for the loss of Cambodian territory at present is no one but Hun Sen because he personally signed with his Vietnamese Big Brother Pham Van Khai the resoundingly condemned supplemental treaty to the 1985 state border treaty.
30 Apr 07
By Mut Sruoch
Moneakseka Khmer
Translted from Khmer and posted online
This is something that calls for Hun Sen in his capacity as the Prime Minister to resolve as soon as possible so that the Cambodian border defense police in Lom village, O Yadav district, Ratanakiri can build houses for their families to live in because the Vietnamese authorities have obstructed them, shamelessly claiming that the land on which the houses are to be build belongs to them.
According to a report, Cambodian border defense police attached to the station in Lom village, O Yadav district, had plans to build houses inside Cambodian territory some 500-800 meters from the border for their dependents to live in, but the Vietnamese authorities entered Cambodian territory and forbade the Cambodian border defense police to build those houses. These Vietnamese authorities vociferously claimed that the land on which the Cambodian police planned to build their houses was theirs.
The same report further revealed that the deputy chief of the border defense station in Lom village admitted that there was such an incident. He said that from the beginning of April the Vietnamese authorities frequently came over to prohibit them without taking the border between the two countries into consideration.
The deputy station chief in Lom village asserted, "Since the beginning of April 2007, the Vietnamese have frequently come over to forbid us not to build anything at that point, which is located inside Cambodian territory as far as 800 meters from the borderline."
The border of Ratanakiri province is adjacent to the Vietnam's Gia Lai province. Several cases have been reported over the years about the Vietnamese encroachments, moving their outposts into Cambodia and clearing and grading land to build roads and bridges in the White Zone. The constructions from these acts of violation by the Vietnamese side have never been pulled down or moved back.
The police commissioner of Ratanakiri province said that he did authorize the border defense police posted along the border to build houses for their dependents only inside Cambodian territory, which did not affect the currently contentious borderline.
It was reported that when the Vietnamese authorities came in to forbid the construction of the houses by the Cambodian police inside the Cambodian territory, the Ratanakiri provincial authorities did not show up to confront the Vietnamese side in order to find what was right and what as wrong. In other words, the responsible authorities of Ratanakiri province were good only at finding fault with fellow Cambodians and at destroying the forests that now have been reduced almost completely depleted.
In the past, map-confused Va Kimhong whose title is chairman of the committee for resolving border disputes frequently announced forcefully that the Cambodian and Vietnamese sides had agreed to temporarily keep the status quo of the 1997 borderline pending official resolution, delimitation, and border-post planting.
However, since the day Va Kimhong made that assurance, only the Cambodian side has respected the agreement. The Vietnamese side has paid it not the least attention. This means that Cambodia continues to be victim of Vietnamese aggression as before. Although not long ago strongman Hun Sen and Vietnamese Communist Pham Van Khai signed the treaty supplemental to the 1985 state border treaty, border problems between the two countries have not subsided.
Last Saturday, Va Kimhong--Hun Sen's eyes and ears in resolving border problems--claimed that "the technical teams of the Cambodian-Vietnames e border affairs commission have met for about a week in order to find a solution to end the border disputes in Ratanakiri. However, the great Va Kimhong did not reveal any detail."
As a matter of fact, it is rare to see the border violations provoked by the Vietnamese authorities settled on an equal footing. On the contrary, after the Vietnamese authorities have built roads, bridges, outposts, and so on, no matter how deep into Cambodian territory, they never pull them back. Cambodia should feel fortunate that they did not push even deeper.
In such a situation, the local people are puzzled to note that the Cambodian and Vietnamese Prime Ministers have already signed their agreement and the border post planting is in progress but the Vietnamese authorities in Gia Lai province adjacent to O Yadav district Ratanakiri province still continue to be arrogant.
Some reports said that land was cleared and graded to build a road into the White Zone and a bridge was also built inside this White Zone, which is a forbidden area, but not a single Cambodian authority dared to stand up against the Vietnamese.
But when the border defense police had plans to build houses for their families at a spot 800 meters from the border, the Vietnamese side insolently told us to stop all activities by claiming that the piece of land was theirs.
Monitors have said that the Vietnamese side never has any good intention toward Cambodia. Hun Sen, who is chairman of the national authority in charge of border affairs, should take the initiative to go to Ratanakiri province and find a solution to the problem in O Yadav once and for all. The person responsible for the loss of Cambodian territory at present is no one but Hun Sen because he personally signed with his Vietnamese Big Brother Pham Van Khai the resoundingly condemned supplemental treaty to the 1985 state border treaty.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
China, Vietnam spar over gas
May 1, 2007
By Andrew Symon
Asia Times (Hong Kong)
By Andrew Symon
Asia Times (Hong Kong)
HANOI - Just when it seemed China and Vietnam had buried their conflicting claims to the Spratly Islands, Beijing is contesting a new Hanoi-tendered, BP-led, US$2 billion natural-gas project near the rocky group of islands and reefs in the South China Sea. The flare-up marks perhaps the strongest indication yet that Beijing's soft-power overtures toward Southeast Asia are hardening when it comes to energy-security concerns.
The contested Moc Tinh and Hai Thach gas fields, in the Nam Con Son Basin about 370 kilometers off Vietnam's southeast coast, are both run by British energy giant BP through a production-sharing contract with state-owned PetroVietnam and in partnership with US oil firm ConocoPhillips.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry on April 12 claimed that the project encroached on its territory, saying "any unilateral action taken by any other country in these waters constitutes infringement into China's sovereignty, territorial rights and jurisdiction. We are firmly opposed to this." Hanoi has countered that the multinational-led project lies in its territorial waters and exclusive economic area, consistent with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Beijing first lodged its complaint during a visit by members of the Vietnamese National Assembly, symbolically led by its chairman, Nguyen Phu Trong. The contested project lies adjacent to the Lan Tay gas field and pipeline, which commenced construction in the late 1990s and came on-stream in 2003. Until now it had not stirred any official complaint from China.
Led by BP and in partnership with PetroVietnam, Lan Tay is Vietnam's first large-scale gas-supply-chain project, piping fuel to the 3,800-megawatt combined-cycle power plant at the Phu My industrial estate outside Ho Chi Minh City that is popular with foreign investors. The pipeline also takes gas from the Korea National Oil Corp's Rong Doi field.
The contested BP-led Moc Tinh and Hai Thach project, which will include a new pipeline designed to deliver gas to a common processing facility onshore, is scheduled to supply gas to new power plants totaling 2,640MW at Nhon Tach, some 60km east of Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam's offshore oil reserves are dwindling and Hanoi is increasingly looking to natural-gas projects to help fill the gap.
According to projections compiled last year by the Asia Pacific Energy Research Center, Vietnamese energy planners aim to have 230,000MW of power-generation capacity installed by 2010, of which 70,000MW will be fueled by natural gas. By 2020, Hanoi hopes nearly to double that capacity to 440,000MW, with natural gas providing 120,000MW of the total power, according to the same projections.
At the same time, China has launched a global investment spree to meet its surging energy appetite, including recent politically risky forays in Africa. Beijing has expressed its desire to source more of its fuel needs from Asia, because of its security concerns about shipping through the congested Malacca Strait between Indonesia's Sumatra island and peninsular Malaysia. And securing new fuel sources in the nearby Spratly Islands would help to alleviate those concerns.
Old enemies, new friends
Relations between neighboring Vietnam and China have long been tense, including recent armed skirmishes in the late 1970s and '80s. The two sides fought a brief but bloody border war in the wake of Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia, which ousted the Beijing-backed Khmer Rouge regime. In 1988, Vietnam and China fought a brief naval battle over the contested Spratly Islands in the south-central area of the South China Sea.
In line with China's regional economic charm offensive, more recently diplomatic relations have warmed and commercial ties have blossomed. The two sides have in recent years launched "friendship and cooperation" meetings, including regular reciprocal visits from each country's top government leaders. Improved diplomatic ties have paved the way for Vietnam to develop new transport infrastructure in its northern regions, aimed at better connecting its manufacturing base with China's booming southern provinces. Bilateral trade reached $10 billion in 2006, up more than 21% year on year.
Overlapping maritime claims still overshadow those improved relations, as the new dispute over Vietnam's Nam Con Son Basin natural-gas project shows. Notably, progress has been made on long-contested land boundaries. China this year ratified a treaty signed last October defining precisely the point where the national borders of China, Vietnam and Laos meet. But settling maritime boundaries, particularly concerning the Spratly Islands, has proved more difficult precisely because access to potentially abundant oil and gas resources is at stake.
During the 1990s, disputes over the Spratly Islands were commonplace, with different regional actors at times forcefully staking their claims. Recently China, Vietnam and others with overlapping claims there - including Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines - agreed under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN's) Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea to resolve any future disputes peacefully.
The Nam Con Son Basin area, the focus of the current disagreement, is a potentially important regional energy source. Most of Vietnam's present oil production is based closer to shore in the Cuu Long Basin, but in Hanoi's drive to secure new energy sources the more distant Nam Con Son Basin has become a focus of Vietnam-tendered, multinational-led exploration. Shell and ExxonMobil are operating in blocks that Vietnam claims but could also be subject to claims by Beijing.
Despite the high stakes, it does not appear that the latest bilateral squabble will escalate into full-blown saber-rattling - as past contested claims have, including China's seizure of the Paracel Islands from Vietnam in 1974. The Nam Con Son issue was discussed at a regular annual meeting between senior foreign-ministry officials from the 10 ASEAN member states and China in the Chinese city of Anhui between Monday and Wednesday last week. The matter was examined in the context of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.
Beijing said shortly after making its claim to the territory on April 12 that the two sides had a consensus to resolve their disputed maritime boundaries around "the principle of shelving differences and seeking common exploration". The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said in mid-April, "We should not take any unilateral action that will further complicate the situation."
A few days afterward, a delegation of Vietnamese government officials and army officers visited the Spratlys, sent ostensibly to celebrate the 32nd anniversary of the islands' liberation from the old US-backed government of South Vietnam, but which also entailed an inspection of troops in islands just to the north of the archipelago stationed clearly to defend against potential Chinese expansionism.
Andrew Symon is a Singapore-based journalist. He is completing a book on energy in Southeast Asia.
The contested Moc Tinh and Hai Thach gas fields, in the Nam Con Son Basin about 370 kilometers off Vietnam's southeast coast, are both run by British energy giant BP through a production-sharing contract with state-owned PetroVietnam and in partnership with US oil firm ConocoPhillips.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry on April 12 claimed that the project encroached on its territory, saying "any unilateral action taken by any other country in these waters constitutes infringement into China's sovereignty, territorial rights and jurisdiction. We are firmly opposed to this." Hanoi has countered that the multinational-led project lies in its territorial waters and exclusive economic area, consistent with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Beijing first lodged its complaint during a visit by members of the Vietnamese National Assembly, symbolically led by its chairman, Nguyen Phu Trong. The contested project lies adjacent to the Lan Tay gas field and pipeline, which commenced construction in the late 1990s and came on-stream in 2003. Until now it had not stirred any official complaint from China.
Led by BP and in partnership with PetroVietnam, Lan Tay is Vietnam's first large-scale gas-supply-chain project, piping fuel to the 3,800-megawatt combined-cycle power plant at the Phu My industrial estate outside Ho Chi Minh City that is popular with foreign investors. The pipeline also takes gas from the Korea National Oil Corp's Rong Doi field.
The contested BP-led Moc Tinh and Hai Thach project, which will include a new pipeline designed to deliver gas to a common processing facility onshore, is scheduled to supply gas to new power plants totaling 2,640MW at Nhon Tach, some 60km east of Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam's offshore oil reserves are dwindling and Hanoi is increasingly looking to natural-gas projects to help fill the gap.
According to projections compiled last year by the Asia Pacific Energy Research Center, Vietnamese energy planners aim to have 230,000MW of power-generation capacity installed by 2010, of which 70,000MW will be fueled by natural gas. By 2020, Hanoi hopes nearly to double that capacity to 440,000MW, with natural gas providing 120,000MW of the total power, according to the same projections.
At the same time, China has launched a global investment spree to meet its surging energy appetite, including recent politically risky forays in Africa. Beijing has expressed its desire to source more of its fuel needs from Asia, because of its security concerns about shipping through the congested Malacca Strait between Indonesia's Sumatra island and peninsular Malaysia. And securing new fuel sources in the nearby Spratly Islands would help to alleviate those concerns.
Old enemies, new friends
Relations between neighboring Vietnam and China have long been tense, including recent armed skirmishes in the late 1970s and '80s. The two sides fought a brief but bloody border war in the wake of Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia, which ousted the Beijing-backed Khmer Rouge regime. In 1988, Vietnam and China fought a brief naval battle over the contested Spratly Islands in the south-central area of the South China Sea.
In line with China's regional economic charm offensive, more recently diplomatic relations have warmed and commercial ties have blossomed. The two sides have in recent years launched "friendship and cooperation" meetings, including regular reciprocal visits from each country's top government leaders. Improved diplomatic ties have paved the way for Vietnam to develop new transport infrastructure in its northern regions, aimed at better connecting its manufacturing base with China's booming southern provinces. Bilateral trade reached $10 billion in 2006, up more than 21% year on year.
Overlapping maritime claims still overshadow those improved relations, as the new dispute over Vietnam's Nam Con Son Basin natural-gas project shows. Notably, progress has been made on long-contested land boundaries. China this year ratified a treaty signed last October defining precisely the point where the national borders of China, Vietnam and Laos meet. But settling maritime boundaries, particularly concerning the Spratly Islands, has proved more difficult precisely because access to potentially abundant oil and gas resources is at stake.
During the 1990s, disputes over the Spratly Islands were commonplace, with different regional actors at times forcefully staking their claims. Recently China, Vietnam and others with overlapping claims there - including Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines - agreed under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN's) Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea to resolve any future disputes peacefully.
The Nam Con Son Basin area, the focus of the current disagreement, is a potentially important regional energy source. Most of Vietnam's present oil production is based closer to shore in the Cuu Long Basin, but in Hanoi's drive to secure new energy sources the more distant Nam Con Son Basin has become a focus of Vietnam-tendered, multinational-led exploration. Shell and ExxonMobil are operating in blocks that Vietnam claims but could also be subject to claims by Beijing.
Despite the high stakes, it does not appear that the latest bilateral squabble will escalate into full-blown saber-rattling - as past contested claims have, including China's seizure of the Paracel Islands from Vietnam in 1974. The Nam Con Son issue was discussed at a regular annual meeting between senior foreign-ministry officials from the 10 ASEAN member states and China in the Chinese city of Anhui between Monday and Wednesday last week. The matter was examined in the context of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.
Beijing said shortly after making its claim to the territory on April 12 that the two sides had a consensus to resolve their disputed maritime boundaries around "the principle of shelving differences and seeking common exploration". The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said in mid-April, "We should not take any unilateral action that will further complicate the situation."
A few days afterward, a delegation of Vietnamese government officials and army officers visited the Spratlys, sent ostensibly to celebrate the 32nd anniversary of the islands' liberation from the old US-backed government of South Vietnam, but which also entailed an inspection of troops in islands just to the north of the archipelago stationed clearly to defend against potential Chinese expansionism.
Andrew Symon is a Singapore-based journalist. He is completing a book on energy in Southeast Asia.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
VN prevents Cambodian border guards from building home inside Cambodia
28 April 2007
By Ratha Visal
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
By Ratha Visal
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
A government official from the border with Vietnam along the province of Ratanakiri, indicated the Vietnamese [authority] side crossed the border to prevent Cambodian border guards from building houses to lodge their families. The Vietnamese claim that the lands belong to Vietnam.
An anonymous source indicated that border guard policemen based at the Lom village station, O’Yadaw district, plans to build their homes inside Cambodian territories, about 500 to 800 meters from their border station, however, the Vietnamese authority does not agree with it.
Heng Puthirat, the border guard police deputy-chief based on Lom village, admitted that the incident did indeed occur. He said that since the beginning of April 2007, the Vietnamese side came in several times to prevent them from building homes: “There are 2 locations [to build homes?], our location is located about 800 meters from the border line, but the Vietnamese side still prevents us [from building homes].”
Ratanakiri province is bordering with Vietnam’s Gia Lai province. The border guards reported that several years ago, the Vietnamese side move their border observation tower inside the white zone, a disputed area considered as a no man’s land, they also built a road and a bridge inside the white zone. Currently, the Vietnamese have not moved back out of the disputed area yet.
Ratanakiri province police chief said that he authorized the border guards to build their homes inside Cambodian territories, and that these areas are not located within the disputed border zone.
Var Kim Hong, the president of the government border committee, claimed on several occasions that Vietnam and Cambodia have agreed to temporarily preserve the border in which both sides have installed their border guards in 1997, while waiting for a mutual agreement on border delimitation.
On 28 April 2007, Var Kim Hong said that the technical working group and Cambodia-Vietnam border experts have met for about one week in order to find a resolution on the border dispute in Ratanakiri province, however, he declined to comment on the results of the meeting. “We cannot answer about it yet because they are still working on it for about one week already, the two parties are working together in Phnom Penh.”
Nguyen Phu Trong, the Vietnamese Assembly chairman, visited Cambodia, however, there was no indication on his schedule that the border issue will be raised during his visit.
Nevertheless, on February 2007, Hun Sen inaugurated a road section from Banlung district to the Vietnamese border. The funding for the road construction came from a $25 million loan by the Vietnamese government. But, up to now, the plan for the road construction is stalled, and no official dare talk officially about the cause of the stalling.
An anonymous source indicated that border guard policemen based at the Lom village station, O’Yadaw district, plans to build their homes inside Cambodian territories, about 500 to 800 meters from their border station, however, the Vietnamese authority does not agree with it.
Heng Puthirat, the border guard police deputy-chief based on Lom village, admitted that the incident did indeed occur. He said that since the beginning of April 2007, the Vietnamese side came in several times to prevent them from building homes: “There are 2 locations [to build homes?], our location is located about 800 meters from the border line, but the Vietnamese side still prevents us [from building homes].”
Ratanakiri province is bordering with Vietnam’s Gia Lai province. The border guards reported that several years ago, the Vietnamese side move their border observation tower inside the white zone, a disputed area considered as a no man’s land, they also built a road and a bridge inside the white zone. Currently, the Vietnamese have not moved back out of the disputed area yet.
Ratanakiri province police chief said that he authorized the border guards to build their homes inside Cambodian territories, and that these areas are not located within the disputed border zone.
Var Kim Hong, the president of the government border committee, claimed on several occasions that Vietnam and Cambodia have agreed to temporarily preserve the border in which both sides have installed their border guards in 1997, while waiting for a mutual agreement on border delimitation.
On 28 April 2007, Var Kim Hong said that the technical working group and Cambodia-Vietnam border experts have met for about one week in order to find a resolution on the border dispute in Ratanakiri province, however, he declined to comment on the results of the meeting. “We cannot answer about it yet because they are still working on it for about one week already, the two parties are working together in Phnom Penh.”
Nguyen Phu Trong, the Vietnamese Assembly chairman, visited Cambodia, however, there was no indication on his schedule that the border issue will be raised during his visit.
Nevertheless, on February 2007, Hun Sen inaugurated a road section from Banlung district to the Vietnamese border. The funding for the road construction came from a $25 million loan by the Vietnamese government. But, up to now, the plan for the road construction is stalled, and no official dare talk officially about the cause of the stalling.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Border of disrespect, violation, and encroachment, unlike what Vietnam promised Cambodia
Vietnam’s violation by encroaching into the White Zone in Ratanakkiri
17 March 2007
By Ratha Visal
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
17 March 2007
By Ratha Visal
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
A government official from the Ratanakkiri province reported that Vietnam have violated [the Cambodian territory] by moving its checkpoint post further, deep inside the prohibited white zone, even though the Cambodian border defense authority have asked them to stop this encroachment several times in the past already.
An anonymous provincial official reported that on 10 March 2007, the Vietnamese border troop moved its border checkpoint post approximately 200-meter deep into the white zone. The Vietnamese checkpoint post is now very close to the international border gate between Vietnam and Cambodia, in O’Yadaw district.
Rer Ray, the Ratanakkiri province police chief, confirmed that he received the report above already, and he also sent a report to the provincial authority and the Ministry of Interior to ask for a decision. “This issue has been reported to higher provincial authority and the Ministry of Interior. As for me, I already reported to my superior, I don’t want any delay in this issue.”
The 2005-2006 report from the Ratanakkiri province authority indicated that the Vietnamese side had violated several times into the prohibited white zone located between the Cambodian checkpoint and the Vietnamese checkpoint. In one instance, Vietnam built a post right on top of the location of a [Cambodian] flagpole, it also built roads, fell down trees, paved roads deep inside the prohibited white zone by several hundred meters.
RFA could not contact the Vietnamese embassy on the claim made about because of the weekend.
Nevertheless, Var Kim Hong, the president of the government national border committee, said that he did not receive this report from the provincial authority yet.
He promised to look into this case: “Our people are positioned in all institutions in O’Yadaw, let’s wait and see … there is no report from the Ratanakkiri province yet.”
On 11 February, a group of technical expert in charge of delimiting the border between Cambodia and Vietnam did not completed their mission successfully because of disagreement on border delimitation at the O’Yadaw international border gate, in Ratanakkiri province in Cambodia and Gia Lai province in Vietnam. The delimitation was made so that border posts can be installed in order to facilitate the construction of road 78 linking Ratanakkiri and Vietnam.
Sin Siekny, the border delimitation technical expert, commented: “… There is a small technical problem. It’s difficult for me to answer about this work. We have not completed yet, it’s only after it’s completed that I can provide an answer, we are studying it now.”
During mid-January 2007, there was also a report about the Vietnamese violation with the construction of a concrete bridge inside the prohibited white zone, next to the Sastr and Lom villages, O’Yadaw district. According to an official from the border defense committee, there is not one single plan that will bring to an end the Vietnamese [territory] violations.
An anonymous provincial official reported that on 10 March 2007, the Vietnamese border troop moved its border checkpoint post approximately 200-meter deep into the white zone. The Vietnamese checkpoint post is now very close to the international border gate between Vietnam and Cambodia, in O’Yadaw district.
Rer Ray, the Ratanakkiri province police chief, confirmed that he received the report above already, and he also sent a report to the provincial authority and the Ministry of Interior to ask for a decision. “This issue has been reported to higher provincial authority and the Ministry of Interior. As for me, I already reported to my superior, I don’t want any delay in this issue.”
The 2005-2006 report from the Ratanakkiri province authority indicated that the Vietnamese side had violated several times into the prohibited white zone located between the Cambodian checkpoint and the Vietnamese checkpoint. In one instance, Vietnam built a post right on top of the location of a [Cambodian] flagpole, it also built roads, fell down trees, paved roads deep inside the prohibited white zone by several hundred meters.
RFA could not contact the Vietnamese embassy on the claim made about because of the weekend.
Nevertheless, Var Kim Hong, the president of the government national border committee, said that he did not receive this report from the provincial authority yet.
He promised to look into this case: “Our people are positioned in all institutions in O’Yadaw, let’s wait and see … there is no report from the Ratanakkiri province yet.”
On 11 February, a group of technical expert in charge of delimiting the border between Cambodia and Vietnam did not completed their mission successfully because of disagreement on border delimitation at the O’Yadaw international border gate, in Ratanakkiri province in Cambodia and Gia Lai province in Vietnam. The delimitation was made so that border posts can be installed in order to facilitate the construction of road 78 linking Ratanakkiri and Vietnam.
Sin Siekny, the border delimitation technical expert, commented: “… There is a small technical problem. It’s difficult for me to answer about this work. We have not completed yet, it’s only after it’s completed that I can provide an answer, we are studying it now.”
During mid-January 2007, there was also a report about the Vietnamese violation with the construction of a concrete bridge inside the prohibited white zone, next to the Sastr and Lom villages, O’Yadaw district. According to an official from the border defense committee, there is not one single plan that will bring to an end the Vietnamese [territory] violations.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Thai soldiers are establishing a base inside the White Zone (No man’s land) in Anlong Veng
10 March 2007
By Sav Yuth
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
By Sav Yuth
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
A group of Cambodian local villagers and border guards from the Choam Sro-ngam pass in Anlong Veng district, Oddar Meanchey province, reported that Thai black-clad soldiers are digging up trenches and installing a number of canons in the border zone designated as the White Zone (No man’s land) – a border zone were land disputes between the two countries are not resolved yet [and thus designated as “no man’s land”].
A Cambodian villager who lives on the Dangrek mountain chain, at the Choam Sro-ngam pass, told RFA on Thursday evening that a large number of Thai black-clad soldiers were digging trenches and are installing canons in the dispute areas along the border line known as the Chhker Eut, and the Thai soldiers are also patrolling in the O’Kranhoung area as well. The villager said: “The Thai [soldiers] are digging trenches inside our pass, at the Choam Sro-ngam pass, south of Pom, next to their border. They are always paying great attention in the zone where the two sides are disputing each other, this zone covers a swath of land of about 50-meter… Right now, the villagers on our side are extremely scared because they are afraid the Thai authorities may do something against our people by surprise.”
Commander Toch Ra, the president of the Thai-Cambodian border liaison for this area, confirmed that yesterday morning, a group of about 50 to 60 Thai black-clad soldiers established a base and were patrolling in this [disputed] area, but he said that in fact, the Thai soldiers took these actions to prevent Cambodian villagers from cutting down forest trees to build their homes inside Thai territories.
Commander Toch Ra added: “The problem stems from the cutting down of forest trees beyond the off-limit zone, we prevented our people, but when we stop them, they say that we are preventing them from building their houses in this area. But when they cut down the trees like that, when the Thai notice it, they install their troops to protect this area, and they prevent the cutting down of trees. Therefore, up to now, they have not pulled out yet, there are about 50 to 60 of them as before, they are using force.”
Var Kim Hong, president of the Cambodian government committee for the resolution of border dispute, said on 05 March that the government is aware of this problem and it is discussing with Thailand to resolve this problem between the 2 countries, however, he asked Cambodian villagers to stop pursuing their home construction in this area.
Var Kim Hong said: “The Royal Government is aware of the situation, during the meeting in Bangkok held on 27-28 Feb. We discussed with the Thai counterpart already to let them know our Cambodian positions. The Thai counterpart is still insisting that our people, who built homes along the border, tear down their homes. We told them about all the issues [once] already, and we don’t want to repeat them again … I returned from Bangkok on 01 March, and a group of officials from the Ministry of National Defense, the Cambodian border liaison office, and the president of the Thai border liaison office, all visited the area.”
A Cambodian villager who lives on the Dangrek mountain chain, at the Choam Sro-ngam pass, told RFA on Thursday evening that a large number of Thai black-clad soldiers were digging trenches and are installing canons in the dispute areas along the border line known as the Chhker Eut, and the Thai soldiers are also patrolling in the O’Kranhoung area as well. The villager said: “The Thai [soldiers] are digging trenches inside our pass, at the Choam Sro-ngam pass, south of Pom, next to their border. They are always paying great attention in the zone where the two sides are disputing each other, this zone covers a swath of land of about 50-meter… Right now, the villagers on our side are extremely scared because they are afraid the Thai authorities may do something against our people by surprise.”
Commander Toch Ra, the president of the Thai-Cambodian border liaison for this area, confirmed that yesterday morning, a group of about 50 to 60 Thai black-clad soldiers established a base and were patrolling in this [disputed] area, but he said that in fact, the Thai soldiers took these actions to prevent Cambodian villagers from cutting down forest trees to build their homes inside Thai territories.
Commander Toch Ra added: “The problem stems from the cutting down of forest trees beyond the off-limit zone, we prevented our people, but when we stop them, they say that we are preventing them from building their houses in this area. But when they cut down the trees like that, when the Thai notice it, they install their troops to protect this area, and they prevent the cutting down of trees. Therefore, up to now, they have not pulled out yet, there are about 50 to 60 of them as before, they are using force.”
Var Kim Hong, president of the Cambodian government committee for the resolution of border dispute, said on 05 March that the government is aware of this problem and it is discussing with Thailand to resolve this problem between the 2 countries, however, he asked Cambodian villagers to stop pursuing their home construction in this area.
Var Kim Hong said: “The Royal Government is aware of the situation, during the meeting in Bangkok held on 27-28 Feb. We discussed with the Thai counterpart already to let them know our Cambodian positions. The Thai counterpart is still insisting that our people, who built homes along the border, tear down their homes. We told them about all the issues [once] already, and we don’t want to repeat them again … I returned from Bangkok on 01 March, and a group of officials from the Ministry of National Defense, the Cambodian border liaison office, and the president of the Thai border liaison office, all visited the area.”
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