Cambodia plans to erect more than 370 permanent, border demarcation poles along the Vietnamese border by the end of 2008, and mark more than 86 percent of the border with Laos, a government official said.
“Everything about the demarcation process is going smooth with Vietnam and Laos but we need some more time to do the work,” Border Commission Director Var Kim Hong told reporters outside the National Assembly.
However, demarcating the border with Thailand is problematic due to landmines and legal issues, Var Kim Hong said, following a meeting with the Assembly’s commission on foreign affairs, information and international cooperation.
The 1,270-km-long border with Vietnam will be marked with more than 370 poles by the end of 2008. It will cost $15 to $16 million to erect the poles, which are being funded by Vietnam, Var Kim Hong said. In Laos, more than 100 poles will be erected along the country’s 544 km border, he added.
Trinh Ba Cam, a spokesman for the Vietnamese Embassy, said he did not in possession of details concerning Cambodia’s progress in border demarcation, but he added that clearly marking the frontier is a good thing for relations between the two countries.
“The two governments want to build peaceful border lines, so the sooner the better for the two countries,” he said.