~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

Year :      [2005]      [2004]      [2003]      [2002]      [2001]      [2000]      [1999]      [1998]      [1997]

Cambodian PM heads to Vietnam to sign controversial border treaty

PHNOM PENH - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen headed to Vietnam for a three-day official visit during which he was expected to sign a controversial supplementary agreement to a 1985 border treaty. Hun Sen's critics and opponents of the deal complain it cedes too much land to Vietnam, but the prime minister rejected their arguments last week, saying Cambodia could even win back land.

"After the signing, the National Assembly and Senate will ratify it, so it will be fully transparent," Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told reporters on Monday. Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan said last month there were "difficulties" in marking the Cambodia-Vietnam border, but said both governments hoped the supplementary agreement would help resolve the problem.

During his visit to Vietnam, Hun Sen will hold talks with Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai and sign six bilateral cooperation documents beyond the border treaty, the Cambodian foreign ministry said. These include a memorandum of understanding on the development and management of water resources in the Mekong river basin and an agreement on cooperation for eliminating trafficking in women and children.

Border feuds tap into an often virulent anti-Vietnamese sentiment in Cambodia, fuelled by resentment of Vietnam's expansion over the centuries. The rise to power of Cambodia's current government after the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime was backed by communist Vietnam and the two retain close links.

Agence France Presse - October 10, 2005.