Cambodian, Vietnamese soldiers partake in rescue drill

PHNOM PENH, Dec 19, 2019, The Khmer Times. More than 1,000 Cambodian and Vietnamese soldiers yesterday partook in a cross-border disaster rescue exercise along Svay Rieng province. Defence Minister General Tea Banh and his counterpart General Ngo Xuan Lich presided over the one-day drill under the theme of “Joint Exercise on Chemical Substance Victim Rescue and Humanitarian Aid,” The Khmer Times reported.

A total of 1,143 soldiers, including 265 Vietnamese troops took part in the drills, according to General Ith Sarath, RCAF’s Deputy Commander-in-Chief.

General Moeng Samphan, a Defence Ministry secretary of state and head of the joint disaster rescue exercise committee, said the exercise focused on intelligence-gathering, cleaning, detoxification, first aid and emergency rescue.

Gen Samphan said it is necessary to have the exercise conducted along the border to be better prepared.

“It was held to help our peoples living along the border who suffer from disasters, such as wildfire, flood, drought and other natural disasters in our two countries”, Gen Samphan said.

He noted that the troops did humanitarian work, including giving medical treatment, giving food to the victims, and preventing disease breakouts.

“This is an initiative by Prime Minister Hun Sen and it was accepted by the Vietnamese government,” Gen Samphan said. “It does not mean that we conduct it only with Vietnam but we are also going to do it with Laos and Thailand.”

“The government understands clearly about difficulties people living along the border face. In the past, the Cambodian-Vietnamese border was an area affected by wars…but now our border area is peaceful”, he said.

Speaking at the ceremony yesterday, Gen Banh said the joint drill was aimed at strengthening cooperation between the two countries.

“Through this joint exercise, we will strengthen and expand cooperation between Cambodian and Vietnamese soldiers,” Gen Banh said. “It is reflective of our purpose to expand the spirit of a good neighbour.”

“This joint exercise will also help maintain peace, stability, cooperation and development because they are the main factor in economic development,” he added.