Vietnam's deputy PM in Cambodia for pact on war dead
PHNOM PENH -
Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung arrived in Cambodia Sunday for an official visit during which the two
sides will sign an accord on finding and returning the remains of Vietnamese soldiers killed in action.
Heading a delegation of more than 30 officials, Dung is also expected to sign deals on scientific and technical cooperation in
agriculture and fisheries as well as health, officials said.
"It is normal at this time to strengthen the cooperation between the two neighbouring countries," said military attache Tran Ngoc
Que of the Vietnamese embassy in Phnom Penh.
He said Hanoi was confident that with a key pact on war dead, Vietnamese soldiers missing in action in Cambodia would be
located and their remains returned home.
"There is peace now in Cambodia ... we see no problems," he said.
Vietnam invaded Cambodia in December 1978, forcing the brutal Khmer Rouge regime out of Phnom Penh on January 7,
1979, installing a puppet regime of Khmer Rouge defectors and changing the country's name to the People's Republic of
Kampuchea.
However, many Cambodians deeply resent the Vietnamese despite the end to the Khmer Rouge rule. The Cambodian
government officially renounced Communism in 1989 and changed the country's name to the State of Cambodia. Vietnam
withdrew its last troops that year.
Visits by Vietnamese officials have sometimes sparked street protests. Though none was seen on Sunday, anti-Vietnamese
student groups said they were planning protests for Monday and Tuesday over alleged border encroachments.
The attache said border disputes -- which have often strained ties -- may not figure in meetings with top Cambodian leaders
including Prime Minister Hun Sen, and Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng.
"Border issues are the work of the (border) committees of the countries, so I don't think they will talk about that."
Official meetings are set to begin Monday.
Meas Sarim, advisor to Sar Kheng, said the visit would strengthen ties.
"This is an official three-day visit to strengthen friendship between the two countries," he told reporters at the airport.
Hanoi used its influence within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to get newly-peaceful Cambodia
admitted in 1999.
Dung is set to leave Wednesday.
Agence France Presse - August 27, 2000.
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