Cambodia's Hun Sen Asks For UN Map to Help End Domestic Dispute Over Border With Vietnam

Cambodian Border Committee chairman Var Kim Hong displays a map used to demarcate the border, July 2, 2015.

RFA

Hoping to settle internal arguments over alleged territorial encroachment by Vietnam, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen asked the U.N. on Monday for the loan of a map prepared decades ago by France to compare with maps currently used to demarcate the border.

The request came following clashes between Vietnamese villagers and Cambodian activists in disputed territory and as opposition political figures accused the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) of using maps drawn by Vietnam, which invaded and occupied Cambodia in 1979.

Writing to U.N. secretary-general Ban Ki-moon on July 6, Hun Sen asked for use of the map, which was prepared by colonial ruler France over the years 1933-1953, so that he can end “incitement” by nationalist forces in Cambodia and confirm the integrity of his government’s efforts to fix the border’s proper boundaries.

Opposition lawmakers and NGOs applauded the move while calling on the government to include them in the process of comparing the U.N.’s map with those currently in use.

“If the government verifies this on its own, we won’t know if those maps are accurate,” Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) parliamentarian Um Sam An told RFA’s Khmer Service on Monday.

'A possible solution'

Phnom Penh-based Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee Suon Bunsak also welcomed the government’s move, calling the U.N. map a possible “solution” to ongoing arguments in Cambodia.

“This will clear all doubts and resolve our border problems with neighboring countries,” he said.

Council of Ministers spokesperson Phay Siphan meanwhile called Hun Sen’s letter to the U.N. an “historic event,” adding that its use in verifying the accuracy of maps already being used will help the Cambodian people to better understand the border issue.

All political parties now holding seats in Cambodia’s National Assembly, the country’s parliament, will be allowed to participate in a committee put together to examine and compare the maps, he said.

Ongoing border issues between Cambodia and Vietnam led to clashes at the end of June when Vietnamese villagers attacked and beat Cambodian activists who were inspecting a disputed area, Cambodian opposition party CNRP said.

But Vietnam’s foreign ministry released a statement on July 1 saying that Vietnamese security officers and local residents had tried peacefully to stop the activists and “reason” with them, but were attacked themselves instead.

Reported by Sek Bandith for RFA’s Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Richard Finney.