Cambodia bars Vietnamese protest

Cambodia bars Vietnamese protest

The Bangkok Post | 15 May 2014

PHNOM PENH - The Cambodian government said Thursday it will not allow Vietnamese living in the country to protest Chinese incursions in the South China Sea. 

Khieu Sopheak, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said Cambodia does not allow any foreigners to protest other nationalities.

"Foreigners are not allowed to use Cambodian territory for the purpose of staging activities against other nationalities," he said.

The spokesman made the statement after there were rumours a Vietnamese association in Cambodia was planning to hold a demonstration at the Chinese embassy in Phnom Penh this week to show the unity of Vietnamese against Chinese actions in the South China Sea.

When contacted Thursday, Sim Chy, president of the Khmer-Vietnamese Federation, told Kyodo News he had held an urgent meeting among his members and said his association is not planning any demonstration against China at this stage, but he did not rule out a new decision in the future.

He said his association has about 5,000 members.

Following anti-China demonstrations in Vietnam on Wednesday, more than 600 Chinese, mostly men and a majority of them working in Vietnam, fled to Cambodia.

Fewer Chinese were seeking entry to Cambodia on Thursday, Mom Yoy, deputy immigration police chief at the Bavet International Border Point in Svay Rieng province bordering Vietnam, said.

Cambodia's constitution says, "The Kingdom of Cambodia adopts a policy of permanent neutrality and non-alignment. The Kingdom of Cambodia follows a policy of peaceful co-existence with its neighbors and with all others countries throughout the world."

Cambodia is one of China's major destinations for aid and the country generally backs China in international forums.

The dispute in the South China Sea stems from China's decision to move a massive oil drilling rig into a site in the sea that Vietnam claims as part of its exclusive economic zone.

Clashes between Chinese and Vietnamese ships have occurred over the past week, and earlier this week Vietnamese trashed and burned several Chinese-related facilities in Vietnam.