Old map showing Cambodian and Vietnamese border critics said are more accurate than the new one.By Khmerization
Source: RFA
Border critics and the oppositions have criticised the government's plan to draw new maps with Vietnam, saying Cambodia's colonial-era maps drawn by the French colonial authority were the best and accurate maps for the borders of the two countries.
The criticism came after the Cambodian and Vietnamese government had invited tenders from five foreign companies to draw new maps for the two countries' borders. They also said that the two countries rushed to draw maps too soon before the demarcations have even been completed.
Mr. Rong Chhun, chairman of Cambodian Watchdog Council, said the two countries' demarcations are still in dispute. "I see that they are rushing (into map-drawing) too soon because the demarcations of the border are still in dispute, and there are still irregularities with those border posts that have already been planted, which have encroached on the sovereignty of Cambodia. The people and the civil society are still protesting about those irregular border posts", he said.
Mr. Yim Sovan, spokesman for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, echoed Mr. Rong Chhun's concerns, saying the drawing of the new maps would erase the old border line at the expense of Cambodia's territorial integrity. "It will erase the old border line which we have since the beginning. And the drawing of the maps will make those territories that we are still protesting to claim back lost forever", he said.
Mr. Var Kimhong, chairman of Cambodian Border Committee, dismissed those allegations, saying the drawing of the new maps was necessary to make border maps between the two countries more accurate and more transparent. "We are asked why do we need to make new maps if we had the maps already? Do you think that our Border Committee doesn't know that? We know, but it is necessary to make new maps that are more accurate and have large scale, which is 1:250,000", he said.
On 1st December, Vietnam and Cambodia held a joint bidding process to select foreign firms to draw new maps for the two countries. Proposals were accepted from BLOM Geomatics AS (Denmark), IGN France International, Kokusai Kogyo Corporation (Japan), Samboo Engineering Company (South Korea) and Pasco-FINNMAP (Japan/Finland).
Border critics and the oppositions have criticised the government's plan to draw new maps with Vietnam, saying Cambodia's colonial-era maps drawn by the French colonial authority were the best and accurate maps for the borders of the two countries.
The criticism came after the Cambodian and Vietnamese government had invited tenders from five foreign companies to draw new maps for the two countries' borders. They also said that the two countries rushed to draw maps too soon before the demarcations have even been completed.
Mr. Rong Chhun, chairman of Cambodian Watchdog Council, said the two countries' demarcations are still in dispute. "I see that they are rushing (into map-drawing) too soon because the demarcations of the border are still in dispute, and there are still irregularities with those border posts that have already been planted, which have encroached on the sovereignty of Cambodia. The people and the civil society are still protesting about those irregular border posts", he said.
Mr. Yim Sovan, spokesman for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, echoed Mr. Rong Chhun's concerns, saying the drawing of the new maps would erase the old border line at the expense of Cambodia's territorial integrity. "It will erase the old border line which we have since the beginning. And the drawing of the maps will make those territories that we are still protesting to claim back lost forever", he said.
Mr. Var Kimhong, chairman of Cambodian Border Committee, dismissed those allegations, saying the drawing of the new maps was necessary to make border maps between the two countries more accurate and more transparent. "We are asked why do we need to make new maps if we had the maps already? Do you think that our Border Committee doesn't know that? We know, but it is necessary to make new maps that are more accurate and have large scale, which is 1:250,000", he said.
On 1st December, Vietnam and Cambodia held a joint bidding process to select foreign firms to draw new maps for the two countries. Proposals were accepted from BLOM Geomatics AS (Denmark), IGN France International, Kokusai Kogyo Corporation (Japan), Samboo Engineering Company (South Korea) and Pasco-FINNMAP (Japan/Finland).
2 comments:
var kimhong :Do you think that our Border Committee doesn't know that? We know, your job is a border chief so can you please explain more clearly instead of growling all the time when they are concern about border issue?
Setting aside first the sociocultural clouts between Khmer and Vietnamese lands. The task of border demarcation is in itself a very difficult technical undertaking.So I am not against the making of a new map if it still adhere to the old marks but simply enhance it with a larger scale for better spacing. As in the process of planting the markers,either side (Khmer and Vietnamese) will alternatively losing and gaining some bits of land depending on how far apart the markers sit. The only way to avoid this inaccuracy is to increase the numbers of markers which mean we have to closely mark every 100 or 10 or 5 meters apart. Can we do that? I do not know and do not hope so. And now the political aspects come in. When farmers complained that they lost some land,yes it is true.Cambodian authority needs to explain to them if it caused by the technicality of the survey and try to fine tune it on the spot.Yet there is a sign that "A" party state is encroaching "B" party state if "A" is always gained and "B" sustained the loss all along the marked line.
Now Cambodian opposition party claims that Khmer (is always) lost the territory.Is there any way to clarify that claim ? As a Khmer oversea,I think that territory issue should be beyond political strive but a common interest to all Cambodian political party group to solve with good faith.Is there any participation from many parties in the Border Committee?I would not ask this type of questions if Cambodia has a khmer version of Chamlong Sri Muong but not that extreme!
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