DATE=3/3/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CAMBODIA - VIETNAM
NUMBER=2-259800
BYLINE=KAY JOHNSON
DATELINE=PHNOM PENH
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Vietnam's new foreign minister arrived in
Cambodia Friday for high-level talks with Prime
Minister Hun Sen. As Kay Johnson reports from
Phnom Penh, the talks failed to resolve a long-running
and bitter border dispute.
TEXT: Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien held friendly
meetings with Cambodian leaders and brought up one of
the most delicate issues between the two countries.
Nguyen met with Prime Minister Hun Sen and others, but
the talks yielded no breakthrough in negotiations
aimed at finding agreement on a common border.
Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Nam Hong said more
technical meetings are needed before a final deal can
be struck, but he promised a treaty by year's end.
// ACT IN KHMER -ESTABLISH AND FADE UNDER //
He says he hopes to reach an agreement by the end of
the year 2000, but that more work needs to be done on
the committee level.
The border is an emotional issue for most Cambodians.
Farmers near the border routinely complain the
Vietnamese are grabbing up land by force and there are
occasional skirmishes.
Friday morning, Cambodia's largest newspaper ran a
front-page story with accusations that irrigation
systems in Vietnam are causing floods in northeastern
Cambodia. The dispute dates back to Vietnam's 10-year
occupation of Cambodia in the 1980s, which many in the
country still resent.
The two sides have never signed a post-occupation
territorial treaty.
Relations have improved between the neighbors in
recent years. Since his government was formed in 1998,
Hun Sen has fostered closer ties with
Hanoi, with at least half a dozen high-level visits in
the past year.
Friday's arrival was notable for the absence of the
student demonstrators who regularly protest any
Vietnamese official's visit. It was unclear whether
the students were warned off by police or
simply decided not to demonstrate. (Signed)
NEB/KJ/FC/PLM
03-Mar-2000 06:36 AM EDT (03-Mar-2000 1136 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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