Young Vietnamese, Cambodian officers work together on building peaceful border

Colonel Phạm Đình Triệu, Political Commissar of the Tây Ninh Provincial Border Guard (right), presents a souvenir to Lieutenant General Tien Sophonrnvong, Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of the Cambodian border protection department on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo

TÂY NINH — Young military officers of Việt Nam and Cambodia engaged in a dialogue to discuss joint work in safeguarding national territory sovereignty and border security on Tuesay in the southwestern province of Tây Ninh, which borders three provinces of Cambodia.

Colonel Nguyễn Thanh Hải, Deputy Political Commissar of the Việt Nam Border Guard High Command, and Lieutenant General Tien Sophonrnvong, Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of the Cambodian border protection department, co-chaired the dialogue.

As heard at the event, Việt Nam and Cambodia share a 1,258 km land border that runs through 10 Vietnamese and nine Cambodian provinces. Over the years, the governments, armed forces, and citizens of the two countries have successfully implemented bilateral agreements, ensuring territorial sovereignty and security along their shared borderline, with cooperation between the border protection forces’ young officers increasingly deepening.

Major Điểu Danh, a young officer from the Border Guard of the Central Highlands province of Đắk Nông, highlighted that the Đắk Nông border guard force is responsible for managing and protecting a 141 km stretch of the border adjacent to Mondulkiri province of Cambodia. In recent years, both sides have coordinated joint patrols, cleared patrol routes, and safeguarded border markers effectively. Their young officers have adhered strictly to principles of diplomacy, respecting each other’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, thereby strengthening the spirit of bilateral solidarity, respect, and mutual cooperation.

Colonel Lun Lux, Commander of Cambodia’s 601st Battalion, expressed deep gratitude to the generations of Vietnamese People’s Army soldiers who spared no effort to help liberate Cambodia from the genocidal Pol Pot regime on January 7, 1979. The commander said he and the young Cambodian officers are committed to preserving the solidarity and traditional friendship that have been built over the years by previous generations.

Colonel Hải affirmed that the cooperation between young Vietnamese officers and their Cambodian counterparts has yielded highly commendable results. They have excelled in public outreach and strictly enforced the border regulations between the two countries.

Vietnamese border posts maintain regular communication with the Cambodian Army and Gendarmerie to exchange information and provide advice to higher authorities and local governments on border-related management, security, and socio-cultural-economic development.

Sophonrnvong, for his part, stressed that the joint efforts of the young officers in protecting border sovereignty and security have strengthened the bond between their armed forces. This collaboration has further solidified the good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, and long-lasting stability between Việt Nam and Cambodia. — VNS