Khmer cops, troops attend Thai drill

CLOSER TIES HERALD COURSE RESUMPTION

>> Cambodia will send military and police officers to attend VIP protection training and a joint drill on humanitarian relief and disaster rescue in Thailand for the first time in seven years, Supreme Commander Thanchaiyan Srisuwan has confirmed.

The seven-year absence stemmed from clashes between the Thai and Cambodian military during border conflicts over the Preah Vihear temple.

Gen Thanchaiyan said 25 police and military officers from Cambodia will attend the VIP protection course at the Armed Forces Security Centre attached to the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters.

The training includes driving for VIP figures and shooting to safeguard them, he said.

Cambodian personnel had attended the course before but the training was suspended after the clashes over the Phrea Vihear temple dispute in 2011. The resumption of training is proof of the cordial ties between the two armed forces, he said.

Gen Thanchaiyan said a joint drill on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) will also be held as to prepare officers to cope with disasters in the border areas between the countries.

The HADR training will be conducted at the Armed Forces Development Command’s unit in Chachoengsao province, he said, without going into details on how many Cambodian troops would attend this exercise.

No i nformation is available as to when the two training sessions would be conducted.

“Thai-Cambodian relations are solid,” said Gen Thanchaiyan, adding leading figures of the countries’ armed forces have always talked to each other.

Gen Thanchaiyan was speaking yesterday while on a two-day official visit to Cambodia, where he met Prime Minister Hun Sen, Defence Minister Tea Banh, as well as acting Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Commander Pol Saroeun.

Prime Minister Hun Sen sent his best regards to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha and his deputy, Prawit Wongsuwon, through Gen Thanchaiyan.

A source said Hun Sen expressed confidence that after the Cambodian general election on July 29, his administration would be re-elected and be able to work with Gen Prayut’s government again.

Gen Pol Saroeun stepped down from his position to contest the poll as a party-list MP candidate attached to the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), headed by Hun Sen. At the moment he was serving only as the acting commander, the source noted.

Meanwhile, Gen Thanchaiyan and Gen Pol Saroeun, along with key figures of the countries’ armed forces, attended a traditional thod pha pa, or monk’s robe-offering ceremony, at Wat Chanburiwong in Phnom Penh yesterday. A large number of Cambodian people participated in the ceremony.

Reflecting the closeness of ties, the supreme commanders decided to host the rite together during Gen Thanchaiyan’s visit to Cambodia.