Prime Minister Hun Sen warned that national security must not be neglected, and noted that a deputy chief of the National Police had visited the northeast part of the country to monitor the situation along the Cambodia-Vietnam border.
Hun Sen issued the reminder during a June 13 meeting with nearly 20,000 workers from 11 factories in the capital’s Por Sen Chey district.
“There is a security issue in Vietnam, and we have to be careful it does not spill over into our country. We cannot neglect national security,” he said.
On June 11, the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security arrested a large number of people in connection with attacks on two police headquarters in the mountainous central province of Dak Lak. Multiple police officers and civilian officials were killed in the attacks. The authorities were continuing to search for more people who are suspected of being involved.
Hun Sen said it is important that Cambodian authorities communicate with their Vietnamese counterparts, especially in the wake of the recent fatal attacks.
He added that deputy National Police chief Chhay Sinarith has been dispatched to Mondulkiri province to handle the situation and organise security cooperation along the Cambodia-Vietnam border.
Media reported that the central highlands of Vietnam are home to several ethnic minorities known as Montagnards. Considered a sensitive topic by Vietnamese authorities, many local people in the region have expressed their dissatisfaction with the central government, especially regarding land rights.
Royal Academy of Cambodia secretary-general Yang Peou said that maintaining security and public order is very important for national development, as a decline in public order could result in social unrest.
“Security cooperation with our neighbouring countries is necessary, because as neighbours we cannot avoid one another. All issues should be resolved together, in the spirit of friendship,” he said.
Peou added that insecurity along the border must not be tolerated, as it could threaten social stability and the harmony of the people of both nations.
