Cambodian delegation to China to discuss border conflict w. Vietnam / Opposition Lawmaker Revisit

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Cambodia sends delegation to China to discuss border conflict with Vietnam

Xu Qiliang, the vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China meets Tea Banh, the defense minister of Cambodia, during last year's visit to Phnom Penh. (Photo/Xinhua)

Facing a border conflict with Vietnam, a Cambodian military delegation consisting of 23 high-ranking military and security officials led by the nation's defense minister, Tea Banh began a five-day visit to Beijing on July 8, reported Prashanth Parameswaran, associate editor of the Diplomat, a Tokyo-based online current affairs magazine.

While China said very little about the event and Defense Minister Banh describe it as an "annual exchange visit," Parameswaran said that the 23 members of the delegation includes the commanders of all three branches of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces as well as the national military police. He said that such large and high-powered delegation makes the visit look "big" despite Banh's denial. Also, Paramenswaran noticed that the visit came just days after violent border clashes between Cambodia and Vietnam.

Hundreds of troops from both nations were involved in the territorial conflict which took place in late June. Noone was killed in the confrontation, however, and few were injured. Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen was accused by the Cambodian opposition of using maps drawn by Vietnam to assess the country's borders with its easternn neighbor. Hun later wrote a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on July 6 requesting a map prepared by former colonial ruler France so it could use their demarcation.

A meeting was held by Vietnamese and Cambodian officials in Phnom Penh this week to discuss the border issue. Yet as Cambodia is unable to reach a final solution with Vietnam, it has turned its attention to China for military support. Cambodia was once invaded and occupied by Vietnam between 1979 and 1991. During the occupation, China remained one of Cambodia's most important allies against Hanoi. Beijing is still Cambodia's primary arms supplier today.

China also currently has a territorial conflict with Vietnam over islands in the disputed South China Sea. Parameswaran said Hanoi has moved relatively closer to Washington in recent years due to its unsolved issues with Beijing. Following the meeting between Banh and his Chinese counterpart, Chang Wanquan as well as Xu Qiliang, the deputy chairman of the Central Military Commission, both sided vowed to continue supporting each other on major issues regarding core interests, the article said.

Parameswaran added that China has excessively and contentiously used the term "core interests" to describe its position regarding the territorial dispute over the South China Sea. Cambodia largely supports China's claims over the Spratly islands. In return, Banh seems to request his Chinese counterpart to support his country's "core interests" when it comes up to Cambodia's border conflict with Vietnam.

source: http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20150713000036&cid=1101

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Opposition Lawmaker to Revisit Vietnamese Border

Monday, 13 July 2015; News by Khmer Times/Pav Suy

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CNRP lawmaker Real Camerin leans on fellow activists following a high-profile clash at the border with Vietnam last month. Photo: Facebook

PHNOM PENH (Khmer Times) – Opposition lawmaker Real Camerin is set to revisit a contested area of the Cambodia-Vietnam border in Svay Rieng province on July 19, despite being injured during a brawl there last month.

Mr. Camerin – along with fellow CNRP lawmaker Um Sam An and other activists – say they were physically assaulted by Vietnamese authorities and villagers during a June 28 visit to the site. Vietnamese media, however, accused them of illegally entering that country and provoking a confrontation.

Local Officials

Mr. Camerin subsequently lambasted provincial authorities, saying they failed to protect his group. Provincial officials, however, said they could do nothing because he had failed to inform him of his visit and they only learned about it after the clash.

read more: http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/13246/opposition-lawmaker-to-revisit-vietnamese-border/