Anti-Vietnamese resentment has spelled an end to a cross-border cooperation agreement with Vietnam and Laos.

Cambodia’s recent withdrawal from Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area (CLV-DTA), a cross-border development cooperation scheme with Laos and Vietnam, is a cause for concern. The four northeastern Cambodian provinces affected are among the poorest regions in the whole of Southeast Asia. In general, the development of peripheral regions anywhere in the world is problematic if there are no significant cross-border value chains and trade relations. It is therefore understandable that Ratanakkiri, Mondulkiri, Kratie, and Stung Treng provinces require special economic policy initiatives in order keep pace with the rest of Cambodia. The Cambodian government’s decision to withdraw from the CLV-DTA in September, after weeks of public protests against it, will certainly be to these provinces’ disadvantage.

Read the full analysis on https://thediplomat.com/2024/10/revived-cambodian-nationalism-threatens-to-undermine-special-relationship-with-vietnam/