Cambodia, Vietnam to Ask France’s Help to Draw Up Border Map

Cambodia and Vietnam reached a possible breakthrough in talks being held to end a dispute over the demarcation of the two country’s borders last week in Siem Reap.

Prime Minister hun Sen met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in the northern Cambodian city on Wednesday and agreed to write a joint letter to the French government to request more detailed maps of the border.

“Relating to the border issue … both prime ministers agreed to write a joint letter to request France send mapping experts to help draw up” a new map,
Kao Kimhourn, a senior minister, told reporters after the bilateral meeting.

He added that Hun Sen had also asked his Vietnamese counterpart to halt all ongoing construction along the border, without elaborating.

In late August a committee set up to discuss the issue decided to draft a letter to France asking the former colonial power to assist in resolving the dispute.

However, the idea was dropped when the two sides could not agree on the wording of the letter.

Va Kim Hong, head of the border committee, could not be reached.

Yim Sovann, an opposition spokesman, said as well as bilateral discussions, civil society should be involved “to ensure that border demarcation is accurate.”