Vietnam-Cambodia Military Relations in Focus with Defense Minister Visit

The interaction highlighted some of the ongoing priority areas for the defense relationship heading into 2019.
By Prashanth Parameswaran
January 05, 2019

Last week, a high-ranking Vietnamese defense delegation paid a visit to Cambodia. Though the engagement was just one of several between the two sides, it nonetheless highlighted some of the ongoing activity in the defense side of the relationship between both countries within the context of their respective domestic and foreign policies.

As I have noted before, Vietnam and Cambodia share a defense relationship which both sides tend to characterize as being a pillar in their wider diplomatic ties. Bilateral defense ties extend across several aspects, from Vietnam’s provision of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) with equipment, training and aid to the joint management of more sensitive areas of the relationship such as outstanding issues over their shared 700-mile long border.

Over the past few weeks, the defense relationship has been in the headlines again with the visit of a high-ranking defense delegation to Cambodia. The delegation, led by Vietnam’s Defense Minister Ngo Xuan Lich, paid an official visit to Cambodia that lasted from December 27 and 29 at the invitation of his counterpart, Tea Banh, who also holds the deputy prime minister position as well.
https://thediplomat.com/2019/01/vietnam ... ter-visit/

How Vietnam lost and China won Cambodia
Forty years after the fall of the China-supported Khmer Rouge regime to Vietnam's invading forces, Cambodia is now more clearly in Beijing's than Hanoi's orbit...
http://www.atimes.com/article/how-vietn ... -cambodia/

I dont think Vietnam particularly wants Cambodia anyway .

Vietnam-Cambodia Security Ties in the Headlines with Border Meeting
The interaction highlighted ongoing efforts by both sides to manage interactions related to their shared border as part of their wider security ties.
By Prashanth Parameswaran
January 11, 2019

This week, Vietnam and Cambodia held another iteration of a meeting designed to advance the promotion of cooperation between their local provinces. The meeting spotlighted ongoing efforts by both sides to realize opportunities and to manage challenges that arise from their shared border as among the priorities for the promotion of their wider security ties for 2019.

As I have observed previously in these pages, Vietnam and Cambodia share a defense relationship that extends across several different areas. These range from opportunities, such as Vietnam’s provision of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) with equipment, training, and aid, to challenges such as the joint management of their shared 700-mile long border.

Both sides have been continuing to manage the border issue as they develop their wider relationship into 2019. When Prime Minister HE met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc last month, among the items both sides had agreed on was to speed up the demarcation of their remaining land border. Similarly, when a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation led by Defense Minister Ngo Xuan Lich was in Cambodia to outline defense priorities for 2019, border-related matters also factored in there as well.
https://thediplomat.com/2019/01/vietnam ... r-meeting/