King Norodom Sihamoni will not be in the country to sign off on an upcoming treaty on Cambodia’s borders with Vietnam, leaving the decision on whether to sign up to the interim head of state, retired King Norodom Sihanouk wrote in notes obtained Wednesday.
The announcement comes ahead of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s scheduled Oct 10 visit to Vietnam to negotiate a supplemental treaty based on the 1985 border agreement with Vietnam, whose terms will be kept secret until it has been ratified by the National Assembly, according to documents obtained Sept 14.
“HM the King Preah Norodom Sihamoni will be in hospital in Beijing with his father and his mother on the day of the ratification of the upcoming Treaty on ‘our’ borders,” the retired King wrote Sept 30 in a footnote to a letter from the France-based organization Cambodia’s Border Committee.
“Consequently, it will be up to the interim chief of the Khmer State to sign or to not sign this ratification, this according to his conscience as a Khmer,” the retired King wrote.
