Interior minister Sar Sokha (left) walks with his Vietnamese counterpart To Lam on January 23. Interior Ministry
The Cambodian Ministry of Interior and Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security have renewed a security cooperation plan which will see them enhance cross-border crime prevention through bilateral and regional frameworks.
The 2024 plan will also see them working to open new international border checkpoints, which were agreed to in the past.
The signing took place during a January 23 meeting to review the results of their 2023 cooperation and set the direction for their work in 2024.
The signing was overseen by Minister of Interior Sar Sokha and his Vietnamese counterpart To Lam, Minister of Public Security, according to an interior ministry press release.
Sokha and Lam praised the progress of security cooperation between the two neighbouring countries, which included the exchange of visits, human resource training, material support and more.
The two sides also discussed how cooperation in the fight against drug crime, human trafficking and other cross-border offending contributed to the well-being of the people of both countries.
During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on the evolving security and political situation in the region and the world, noting that various challenges such as drug crime, human trafficking and technological crimes remain a threat to regional security.
The 2024 cooperation plan includes the continued implementation of several major activities, including increased cooperation in the prevention and suppression of all types of transnational crime at both the bilateral and regional levels, the continued development of human resources –especially for non-traditional crimes – and people-to-people exchanges.
Thong Mengdavid, a research supervisor at the Asian Vision Institute (AVI), noted that both Cambodia and Vietnam are concerned about border security, given its importance for protecting development, peace and stability.
“Geopolitical competition and regional security issues such as the Myanmar crisis have caused unrest, humanitarian crises and an influx of refugees, drugs and illegal weapons along the border. This means that strengthening cooperation between the national security institutions of the two countries has never been more important,” he said.
He suggested that the two sides pay closer attention to exchanging information and promoting development along the border.
Seun Sam, a policy analyst at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, observed that Cambodia-Vietnam political relations have improved since 1979, particularly with regard to border security. He also applauded the ongoing training of the Kingdom’s security forces in by Vietnam.
“The 2024 security cooperation plan is similar to that of 2023, although several excellent points have been added.
However, he noted that he would like to see the two countries communicating more effectively, rather than merely signing an agreement. He recalled that during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Vietnamese side closed the border without giving any notice to Cambodia.
