Effective implementation of border-related documents critical to Vietnam-Cambodia ties

Hanoi (VNA) – The effective implementation of the two legal documents on Vietnam-Cambodia land border, which came into force on December 22, is important to strengthening and developing the bilateral traditional friendship and all-round cooperation, Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung said.

On December 22, Vietnam and Cambodia exchanged the documents ratifying the “Supplementary Treaty to the 1985 Treaty on the Delimitation of National Boundaries and the 2005 Supplementary Treaty”, also known as the 2019 Supplementary Treaty, and the protocol on land border demarcation and marker planting, both of which were signed in the presence of the Vietnamese and Cambodian Prime Ministers in Hanoi on October 5 last year.

Following the handover ceremony, Trung told the press that as agreed by the two countries, the 2019 Supplementary Treaty and the protocol on land border demarcation and marker planting took effect immediately after the exchange of the ratification documents.

He described the 2019 treaty and the protocol’s entry into force as a big success of both countries and holds great significance in more than 36 years of handling land border-related issues between the two countries, helping to lift bilateral relations to a new height and reflecting the motto of “good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, long-term sustainability” as agreed on by their senior leaders.

Trung quoted Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh as saying at the event that these two legal documents coming into effect demonstrates the resolve and goodwill of both Vietnam and Cambodia in jointly dealing with common border issues.

The 2019 documents, along with the 1985 Treaty on the Delimitation of National Boundaries and the 2005 Supplementary Treaty, will serve as the fundamental legal framework for managing and developing the Vietnam-Cambodia land border in the new context; firmly safeguarding security, defence, and social order and safety in border areas; fostering development cooperation, friendship exchange, and improvement of living standards of residents in border areas; and building the Vietnam-Cambodia land border into a border of peace, stability, cooperation, and sustainable development, thus contributing to the reinforcement of ASEAN’s solidarity and the promotion of the bloc’s prestige and stature in the world.

Trung noted that the two legal documents once again affirm the values of the border-related treaties and agreements that the two countries have inked, and they serve as the basis for both sides to coordinate in border management and work towards the completion of border demarcation and marker planting along the entire borderline.

He added that relevant agencies of Vietnam and Cambodia need to work together to carry out many important tasks relating to these documents.

For Vietnam’s part, under the 2016 law on international treaties, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as the agency proposing the signing and chairing the implementation, is responsible for building and submitting an implementation plan for the two documents to the Prime Minister for approval.

This will be a crucial legal basis for related ministries, sectors, and localities to carry out the documents effectively, Trung said.

In the time ahead, the official added, Vietnam and Cambodia are set to work closely together to soon hand over and manage the borderline and border markers in conformity with the protocol on land border demarcation and marker planting.

They will also continue negotiations to compile international treaties on border and border gate management regulations and handle the remaining part of the borderline, about 16 percent, on which border demarcation and marker planting has yet to complete.

The effective implementation of the two legal documents holds critical importance to the safeguarding of national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, security, and social order and safety in border areas; as well as to the enhancement and development of the good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, long-term sustainability between Vietnam and Cambodia, the deputy minister affirmed./.