PHNOM PENH
• Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday accused neighbouring Laos of sending troops into Cambodian territory in April, and set an Aug 17 deadline for their departure, warning that he was mobilising soldiers to the border area.

Cambodia and communist Laos are key allies of giant northern neighbour China, backing its "One Belt, One Road" drive to build regional infrastructure, but it was not immediately clear how their dispute would affect the plans.

Mr Hun Sen said at a ceremony in the Cambodian capital that he had been in touch with the government in Laos about 30 soldiers from Laos who had crossed into the area, where some remained during the daytime.

"I can no longer keep patience," he said. "It's not right that we fight each other, but if they don't withdraw, we must do it... We don't declare war, we just ask to get our own land back."

Laos and Cambodia have a territorial and border demarcation dispute, said an official at the Laos Embassy in Phnom Penh.

"We have not yet agreed the border line with each other," said the official, who declined to be identified. "A border commission has not come to check it."

Cambodia should stop clearing the area for road-building activities in order to allow checks by inspection panels from both countries, he said.

China could help resolve the dispute, said an official from a Cambodian think-tank.

"China has influence on the two countries, and if they want to solve it, only China can help," said Mr Ou Virak of the Future Forum think-tank. "This issue might lead to clashes, like when it happened with Thailand," he told Reuters.

In a long-running dispute, land around an ancient temple on the Thai-Cambodian border was the scene of sporadic gun and artillery battles, with 28 killed in the worst incident in 2011.

In November 2013, a United Nations court in The Hague ruled that part of the land around the Preah Vihear temple belonged to Cambodia, and ordered Thailand to withdraw its forces from the area.

Last month, Thailand approved construction of the first phase of a US$5.5 billion (S$7.5 billion) railway to link its industrial eastern seaboard with southern China through landlocked Laos.

In another land dispute, Cambodia accuses neighbouring Vietnam of encroaching on its territory. The two sides met last year in Phnom Penh but the dispute remains unresolved. </s> Hanoi has officially reacted to Phnom Penh’s request to “identify” and “take strong action against” Vietnamese nationals who purportedly left insulting comments on Cambodian Premier Hun Sen’s Facebook page, criticizing him for supporting Beijing’s claims over the South China Sea.

In a written statement, Le Hai Binh, spokesman for the Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the personal opinions apparently posted by Vietnamese writers “do not reflect Vietnam’s stance.”

“We ... do not support those who used freedom of speech to make personal insults and provocative attitude in order to drive a wedge between the peoples of the two countries,” the spokesperson said.

Last week, the Cambodian government condemned the “verbal attacks” accusing Hun Sen of betraying his eastern neighbor as “immoral” and “highly offensive.”

Huynh Ngoc Chenh, a Vietnamese media expert, said he was surprised by Vietnam’s response.

“It shows the increased impact of social media — Facebook in particular — on the ruling authorities, especially the Vietnamese ones,” said Chenh, adding that even Vietnamese Premier Nguyen Xuan Phuc was recently forced to publicly apologize after his motorcade swept through narrow Hoi An streets reserved for pedestrians, resulting in widespread rounds of condemnation on Facebook.

Premier's response

The Cambodian premier on Monday took to the social network to hit back at his South China Sea detractors, calling on Vietnam to respect Cambodian sovereignty and "[educate] their people not to bother me anymore."

"Again, I want to reaffirm with you that I am not a Vietnamese puppet serving the benefits of Vietnamese country, and I’m also not a boss of Vietnam," the Cambodian leader posted. "I’m not asking Vietnam to serve Cambodian political interest either. The South China Sea conflict should [be resolved] ... peacefully by the Chinese and Vietnamese governments. It’s better than [resolving] it through war, as you’ve mentioned in your comment on my Facebook.”

Filipinos and Vietnamese residents shout during a Filipinos and Vietnamese residents shout during a rally outside the Chinese Consulate in the financial district of Makati, east of Manila, Philippines, Aug. 6, 2016. They called on China to respect the international arbitration ruling favoring the Philippines on the disputed group of islands in the South China Sea. Filipinos and Vietnamese residents shout during a rally outside the Chinese Consulate in the financial district of Makati, east of Manila, Philippines, Aug. 6, 2016. They called on China to respect the international arbitration ruling favoring the Philippines on the disputed group of islands in the South China Sea.

Ou Virak, founder of the Phnom Penh-based Future Forum think tank, told VOA's Khmer service that although he agreed the criticism of his premier didn't reflect the stance of Vietnamese officials, he questioned Hun Sen's political prudence in personally responding to the slights of random internet users, let alone in the manner of a formal diplomatic statement.

"I believe there are people who build the premier's Facebook page," he said. "If he does not like how people comment [on his posts], he can just ignore them."

Vietnamese spokesperson Binh told VOA's Vietnamese service that the foreign ministry attaches importance to “friendly, neighborly and comprehensive relations with Cambodia,” and that it has "made efforts to maintain these ties for the common interests of two peoples.”

Border dispute

On Tuesday, Vietnam and Cambodia concluded closed-door discussions on a territorial border dispute, jointly agreeing to "seek international consultants to advise on ways to demarcate the border.”

Var Kim Hong, leader of the Cambodian delegation, told reporters that the two sides “failed to reach an accord.”

Tran Cong Truc, a former Vietnamese official in charge of border affairs who has repeatedly engaged with Cambodian counterparts, struck a slightly more optimistic tone.

Var Kim Hong (R) shakes hands with Vietnamese Depu FILE - Chairman of Cambodia's border committee Var Kim Hong, right, shakes hands with Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung before a meeting about the border between Cambodia and Vietnam in Phnom Penh, Aug. 29, 2016. FILE - Chairman of Cambodia's border committee Var Kim Hong, right, shakes hands with Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung before a meeting about the border between Cambodia and Vietnam in Phnom Penh, Aug. 29, 2016.

"Vietnam has shown its willingness to solve the border issue by agreeing to have a third party, especially France, joining in the demarcating process," he said, adding that France prepared the original map delineating the shared border during the colonial era.

The head of the Cambodian delegation, however, said Phnom Penh observes the border with Vietnam as it was set in 1983, according to maps of Indochina — the former French colonial territory that now comprises Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

Tensions have mounted in recent weeks as Phnom Penh has accused Hanoi of illegally digging ponds and building outposts inside Cambodian territory — assertions that Vietnam denies.

This report was produced in collaboration with VOA's Vietnamese and Khmer services. VOA's Ith Sothoeuth and Hul Reaksmey contributed reporting from Phnom Penh. </s> Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen accused neighboring Laos on Friday of sending troops into Cambodian land in April and said they must leave by an August 17 deadline and that he was mobilizing soldiers to the border area.

Cambodia and Laos on Saturday on Saturday agreed to withdraw their troops from the border between them Cambodia had accused Laotian troops of encroaching on its territory.

Hun Sen said a border commission from both countries would begin working in the area once troops have withdrawn.

“We are not waging war, but we just want our land back”, he said, adding that he was running out of patience with “the invasion” by Laos troops.

An official at the Lao embassy in Phnom Penh told Reuters on Friday the border area was the subject of a territorial and demarcation dispute.

“I’ve ordered the authorities involved to withdraw troops from that area by tomorrow morning”, Thongloun said. He urged Cambodians not to be alarmed if they see military forces on the move.

“I appeal to Laos Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith to withdraw troops from Cambodian territory without any conditions”, Hun Sen said during a ceremony in Phnom Penh. “We don’t want to have a dispute with Laos, but we also can not allow the situation remain like this anymore”. Later on Friday Cambodia’s foreign ministry announced that Hun Sen would fly to the Laos capital Vientiane on Saturday to meet with his counterpart to hash out a solution.

Hun Sen said he had talked over the phone in recent months with the Laotian prime minister and recently sent him a letter but hadn’t received an official reply.

“Our biggest success is that there is no dispute that can’t be solved”, Hun Sen. His party won decisively in the 2008 general election, but lost seats in 2013 and is expected to face a strong challenge next year. </s> PHNOM PENH: Cambodia and Laos reached an agreement on Saturday for Lao soldiers to pull back from their shared border after Cambodia accused Laos of sending troops into its territory, the leaders of both countries said.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday dispatched forces to the border and issued an ultimatum for Laos to withdraw the soldiers by Thursday.

The Cambodian strongman flew to Vientiane on Saturday to hold urgent talks with Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith.

In a news conference after the meeting, broadcast live on Hun Sen's Facebook page with simultaneous translation into Khmer, the Lao leader said he had ordered the withdrawal.

"I've ordered the authorities involved to withdraw troops from that area by tomorrow morning," Thongloun Sisoulith said.

Thongloun said he was sorry he had not responded to an Aug. 2 letter from Hun Sen seeking withdrawal of the troops.

"Anyway, the discussion today was frank and friendly, so that the area would not lead to forces being confrontational," he said.

Thongloun did not say whether Laos admitted to having sent troops into Cambodia, which says about 30 soldiers from Laos crossed into its province of Stung Treng in April.

Hun Sen said he had also ordered Cambodian forces sent to the border - truck-mounted rocket launchers and ground troops - to pull back in response to Laos's agreement to withdraw.

"Our biggest success is that there is no dispute that can't be solved," Hun Sen said at the news conference.

"Moments ago, I already ordered all troops that were mobilised yesterday to go back to their positions."

Hun Sen said a border commission from both countries would begin working in the area once troops have withdrawn.

An official at the Lao embassy in Phnom Penh told Reuters on Friday the border area was the subject of a territorial and demarcation dispute.

Laos wants Cambodia to stop clearing land there for road-building and allow checks by inspection panels from both countries, the official said. </s> Phnom Penh (Cambodia): Cambodia’s prime minister on Friday issued a six-day ultimatum to Laos to pull back troops who have allegedly trespassed into a border area or face a military response.

Around 30 Laos soldiers have been stationed in Cambodia’s northern Stung Treng province since April despite repeated requests by Phnom Penh for them to leave, according to strongman premier Hun Sen.

“I appeal to Laos Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith to withdraw troops from Cambodian territory without any conditions,” Hun Sen said during a ceremony in Phnom Penh.

Military commanders have been ordered to deploy troops along with multiple rocket launchers in the border area, he said, giving Laos the “ultimatum” of pulling out by 17 August.

“We are friends, but a friend cannot step on (our) head,” said the mercurial leader, who often leans on ultra-nationalist rhetoric to drum up support, especially ahead of election season.

“We are not waging war, but we just want our land back,” he said, adding that he was running out of patience with “the invasion” by Laos troops.

According to Hun Sen, the Laos soldiers crossed into Cambodia to halt the construction of a road.

Later on Friday, Cambodia’s foreign ministry announced that Hun Sen would fly to the Laos capital Vientiane on Saturday to meet with his counterpart to hash out a solution.

Cambodia and Laos share a 540-km (335-mile) land border but large tracts have not been officially demarcated, leading to territorial squabbles.

The border is hard to police, with increasing amounts of drugs—mainly methamphetamine and heroin—being moved from Laos into Cambodia.

For years, Cambodia was locked in a bitter territorial dispute with Thailand over the ancient Preah Vihear temple near their shared border, with 28 people killed in the worst clashes in 2011.

In 2013 the United Nations’ top court ruled that the area belonged to Cambodia and ordered Thai troops to leave. </s> The prime minister of Cambodia has issued a six-day ultimatum to Laos to pull back its troops who have allegedly trespassed into a border area or face a military response.

Hun Sen said on Friday that about 30 Laos soldiers crossed into Cambodian territory in April in northern Stung Treng province despite repeated requests by his government for them to leave the area.

He said he had been in touch with the government of Laos.

"I appeal to Laos Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith to withdraw troops from Cambodian territory without any conditions," Hun Sen said during a ceremony in the capital, Phnom Penh.

Military commanders have been ordered to deploy troops along with multiple rocket launchers to the border area, he said, giving Laos the "ultimatum" of pulling out by August 17.

"We are friends, but a friend cannot step on [our] head," he said, adding he was running out of patience with "the invasion" by Laos troops.

"We are not waging war, but we just want our land back."

Calls and emails to the Laos embassy in Phnom Penh were not returned.

Cambodia and Laos share a 540km land border, but large tracts have not been officially demarcated, leading to territorial squabbles.

The Laos border is hard to police with increasing amounts of drugs - mainly methamphetamine and heroin - being moved from Laos into Cambodia. </s> PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A Cambodian court on Monday sentenced an opposition senator to seven years in prison over comments he posted on Facebook criticizing a 36-year-old border agreement with neighboring Vietnam.

Judge Ros Piseth of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court found senator Hong Sok Hour, a member of country’s main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, guilty of falsifying public documents, using fake documents and inciting chaos.

Hong Sok Hour and his defense lawyer did not appear before the court, but Son Chhay, an opposition lawmaker who attended the hearing, told reporters that the conviction reflected the court’s lack of independence. “For me, I am already aware that this case is political motivated,” Son Chhay said.

Hong Sok Hour was arrested in August 2015 after Prime Minister Hun Sen accused him of treason for the online posting, which included the purported text of a 1979 treaty with Vietnam that declared that their mutual border would be dissolved. Hun Sen — who was foreign minister at the time in a government installed by a Vietnamese occupation force that invaded Cambodia to oust the murderous Khmer Rouge regime — insisted the treaty was forged.

Hong Sok Hour is the latest opposition figure to run afoul of the law in what activists say is the willful use of the courts to suppress government critics.

The case is one of several hanging over opposition leaders in what is generally seen as an attempt to disrupt their organizing efforts ahead of local elections next June. The next general election is not until the middle of 2018, but holding power at the local level is an advantage when national polls are held.

On Friday, an appeals court upheld a five-month prison term for opposition leader Kem Sokha’s refusal to twice answer a court summons, in a case involving his alleged mistress, but which his supporters say is politically motivated.

A month ago, another opposition lawmaker, Um Sam Ann, who has been a strong critic of the government’s handling of demarcating the border with Vietnam, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for his online postings. </s> Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who threatened Friday to use force over a border crisis with neighboring Laos, announced Saturday that the situation had been peacefully resolved after he made a lightning trip for face-to-face talks with his Laotian counterpart.

Hun Sen, an enthusiastic user of social media, announced on his Facebook page that he had successfully negotiated with Laotian Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith to have a small contingent of Laotian troops withdrawn from disputed frontier territory, with Cambodia also to remove its soldiers. His Facebook page showed video of the two leaders at a news conference.

Hun Sen flew to the Laotian capital, Vientiane, on Saturday morning, a trip announced just the day before, when he had set an Aug. 17 deadline for Laotian troops to withdraw or be confronted by Cambodia's military.

News media close to Hun Sen's government had shown troops in the Phnom Penh area mobilizing Friday night.

Cambodia and Laos have generally warm relations as both had fraternal communist governments after 1975. Hun Sen said Friday that the problem began in April when about 30 Laotian soldiers entered a no-man's-land on the border to stop Cambodian military engineers from building a road on what Cambodia maintains is its territory in Stung Treng province.

Hun Sen's critics have accused him of using past border crises with Thailand to boost his popularity.

Cambodia's last major border disputes were with Thailand from 2008 to 2011, and were widely seen as benefiting Hun Sen politically, as he was able to portray himself as a nationalist protector of the country's territory. His party won a strong victory in the 2008 general election, but lost seats in 2013 and is expected to face a strong challenge next year.

The state news agency of Laos, KPL, reported Thongloun's remarks on the agreement by both sides to withdraw military forces from the disputed area between the Laotian province of Attapeu and Cambodia's Stung Treng.

"Today, we had frank talks in a friendly manner and in order to restrain the situation in that area from being intensified and consequently developing into military confrontations, I and Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen have agreed that the Lao side will withdraw the remaining military troops that have been left there since Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen ordered the stoppage of building an access road in that area," the Laotian prime minister was quoted as saying.

He said he had ordered his country's soldiers to withdraw no later than Sunday morning, and that Hun Sen was likewise ordering his troops to stand down.

Thongloun said at their joint news conference that the two sides agreed that their foreign ministries and border committees would continue talks on demarcating the border where markers have not yet been installed. </s> Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen accused neighbouring Laos on Friday of sending troops into Cambodian land in April and said they must leave by an Aug. 17 deadline and that he was mobilising soldiers to the border area.

PHNOM PENH: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen accused neighbouring Laos on Friday of sending troops into Cambodian land in April and said they must leave by an Aug. 17 deadline and that he was mobilising soldiers to the border area.

Hun Sen said at a ceremony in Phnom Penh about 30 soldiers from Laos had crossed into the area and that some of them remained there during daytime. He said he had been in touch with the government in Laos.

"I can no longer keep patience," Hun Sen said. "It's not right that we fight each other but if they don't withdraw, we must do it ... We don't declare war, we just ask to get our own land back."
Cambodia and Vietnam fail to agree on a resolution regarding their border dispute.