Cambodian scholar hails Vietnam - Cambodia friendship

VOV.VN - An in-depth article recently published on the website of the Royal Academy of Cambodia (RAC) highlighted the Vietnam - Cambodia friendship over recent decades.

The article published on August 28 was written by Uch Leang, deputy head of the Department of Asian, African and Middle Eastern Studies under the RAC’s Institute of International Relations, ahead of Vietnam’s 77th National Day on September 2.

The two countries are currently holding the Friendship Year 2022 and marking the 55th anniversary of joint diplomatic ties.

In the piece, Leang noted the historical context of bilateral ties since the end of the Second World War in 1945 when the French colonialists sent troops to re-occupy Indochina. Following this, the legendary victory of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign forced the French Government to return complete independence to Vietnam and recognise the independence of both Cambodia and Laos. Later, Vietnam provided curcial assistance for Cambodia’s patriotic forces in toppling Pol Pot’s genocidal regime in 1979.

He said in this context, both sides have maintained and unceasingly promoted their ties and officially set up the diplomatic relationship on June 24, 1967.

Since then, the destinies of the two countries has become intertwined, especially in the 1950s and 1970s when Cambodia supported Vietnam’s struggle to gain national reunification, with Vietnam later providing assistance to the Cambodian people to escape from the genocidal regime of their former dictator.

The article went on to outline that bilateral relations have been developing over the last 50 years. In 2005, the two countries identified the development orientation for their ties moving into the new context, which represents good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, and comprehensive, sustainable, and long term co-operation.

Recent years has seen both sides offer material and spiritual support for each other in the fight against COVID-19, thereby bringing the pandemic under control and resuming bilateral co-operation activities, according to the scholar.

This year, Cambodia is holding the rotational chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for the third time.

Similar to Cambodian support for the Vietnamese during its previous ASEAN Chairmanship, Vietnam also consistently backs Cambodian efforts to maintain the bloc’s centrality. This is in addition to making efforts within the bloc and with non-ASEAN partners, thereby reinforcing ASEAN’s solidarity and adaptability to achieve targets set by the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, he continued.

Leang stated that both nations’ sound friendship and neighbourliness are integral parts of the bloc, of which economic partnerships play an important role in helping with political relations.

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