Vietnamese and Cambodian officials have pledged to resolve border issues between their two countries on the basis of friendship and respect for each other’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. Visiting Lieutenant General Vo Trong Viet, Commander of the Vietnam Border Guard, and General Sok Phal, head of the Cambodian Interior Ministry's immigration department, arrived at the consensus at their meeting in Siem Reap, Cambodia on Tuesday, according to the Vietnam News Agency.  Lt. Gen. Viet is leading the Vietnam Border Guard Command delegation during a seven-day visit that started on July 12. The two sides reviewed the implementation of the memorandum of understanding signed in 2014, and assessed order and security in border areas and at border gates. They also discussed directions for stepping up cooperation in border control to develop a peaceful, friendly, and stable boundary for the sake of both countries and peoples. Lt. Gen. Viet will also meet Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng. The visit was paid nearly a fortnight after authorities of the southern Vietnamese province of Long An sent a note to the chief of the neighboring Cambodian province of Svay Rieng over violent actions by Cambodian extremists against Vietnamese people along the border. In the note, which was sent on July 2 to Svay Rieng Governor Chieng Am, the Long An administration demanded that Svay Rieng authorities take effective measures to prevent violence triggered by Cambodian extremists against Vietnamese.

The move was made following a serious attack on Vietnamese people carried out by 250 Cambodian extremists on June 28 in Vietnamese territory in Long An Province, which borders Svay Rieng, leaving seven Vietnamese injured.

The attack ruined peace along the common border of the two countries, Do Huu Lam, chairman of the Long An People’s Committee, said in the note, urging Governor Chieng Am to ask Cambodian competent agencies to satisfactorily settle the incident and prevent similar actions from recurring in the future.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Le Hai Binh, also said at a press briefing on June 30 that Vietnam strongly criticized the said violent actions by Cambodian extremists.

Such actions broke both Vietnam and Cambodia’s laws, as well as treaties and agreements signed by both sides, and affected the progress of delineation and the sound relationship between the two nations, spokesperson Binh said.

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