Vietnam and Cambodia are working on completing the remaining 16% of the demarcation work, a Vietnamese spokesperson said today, adding that negotiations on this issue are on the way.

Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in answering a question on the issue raised at a press conference on May 26.

“Completing the demarcation and planting border markers build the Vietnam-Cambodia borderline of peace, friendship, and sustainable development is the long-standing legitimate aspiration of the two peoples,” Hang said.

Demarcation market No.240 along the Vietnam-Cambodia border. Photo: Ngoc Vien Nguyen/Panoramio

In this regard, the two countries have marked off 1,045 km of the borderline or fulfilled 84% of the work. The achievements are essential for traveling, trading, friendship activities, as well as socio-economic development in each country, she noted.

Vietnam and Cambodia resumed border demarcation in 1999. By September 2019, the two countries set up 315 main landmarks, 1,511 sub-landmarks, and 221 pillars.

In celebrating the 20 years of border demarcation held in March 2022, Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh said the completion of 84% of border demarcation and marker erections is an important milestone and a great achievement.

In 1985, the two countries signed a border treaty. They signed supplementary agreements in 2005 and 2019.

Local experts said that completing 84% of the Vietnam-Cambodia demarcation work is a “feat for both countries” as the borderline runs across 10 Vietnamese provinces and 9 Cambodian provinces, through mountains, jungles, and rivers. The work, though it costs great effort, demonstrates good cooperation and friendship between the two nations.

The demarcation contributes to the political stability and economic development of both countries and the region as well as smooths cross-border trade.