While some citizens have voiced their dissatisfaction with Cambodia's involvement in the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area (CLV-DTA) agreement and have urged the government to withdraw from it, Prime Minister Hun Manet has reiterated his position today.

He stated that withdrawing or not withdrawing is not the most pressing issue. What truly matters is protecting Cambodia's land and sovereignty.

While addressing a ceremony to award certificates to law students and trainees of the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia (BAKC), the prime minister observed that Cambodian citizens appear to have three perspectives regarding the CLV-DTA. Some want Cambodia to withdraw, others support staying in the cooperation framework and some have no opinion on the matter.

However, he noted two common concerns: None of the parties want Cambodia to lose land or the four provinces involved in this cooperation in the future, and everyone wants to develop these regions to benefit Cambodia.

“The disagreement stems from the fact that one group believes Cambodia should be 100 per cent handling everything on its own, while another group believes that Cambodia should cooperate within the framework as well. This is the point of difference. What does the government choose? Should we focus on winning or losing the debate over withdrawing or not withdrawing, or should we focus on the bigger goal that everyone desires?” he said.

“The priority is development, while ensuring that sovereignty and land are not lost in the future. The government must focus on this urgent task, and we are doing so,” he added.

Manet also stressed the necessity of completing the border demarcation process with Vietnam. The process is 84 per cent complete, while the remaining 16 per cent has been under negotiation for many years. He explained that the demarcation process is being conducted based on the 26 maps of Indochina geography that are stored at the UN.

Regarding the CLV-DTA cooperation, many citizens living abroad have called for the government to withdraw and protests have been held every weekend since August 11th. However, there are also groups that have used this opportunity to call for the government to be overthrown, as seen on August 18, when authorities took action.

According to Manet, 66 people were detained in relation to the planned August 18 protests, of whom nine were identified as leaders and sent to court for legal proceedings. The remaining 57 were educated and sent home.