Cambodia, Vietnam To Erect Markers At Bavet Border

Monday, September 11, 2006

By Pin Sisovann
The Cambodia Daily

Cambodian and Vietnamese officials held a groundbreaking ceremony for
353 border markers that will be put along the 1270 km border between
the two countries by the end of 2008, officials said Sunday. Var Kim
Hong, chairman of Cambodia's Border Committees, said he attended the
Thursday ceremony across the border from Svay Rieng province's Bavet
border crossing. The first marker should be officially installed in
Bavet Sept 27, he said. At border crossings, seven of the 2-meter-high
granite posts will have an image of Angkor Wat on the Cambodian side
and a star on the Vietnamese side, Var Kim Hong said. Vietnam will
spend $15 million setting up the markers, and will split the cost
equally with Cambodia, he added. "It is a historical event. This is the
first time in history that the border markers are to be set up when
both countries are independent states," he said. Previous markers were
put in place during the French colonial era and during the 1980s, he
said, when Cambodia was occupied by Vietnam. Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker
Son Chhay said that his party does not recognize this border agreement,
and that the international community should have helped draw up the
border to ensure that Cambodian territory was not encroached upon.

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