Residents in southern Cambodia have backed opposition claims that Vietnamese officials have moved border markers deep into Cambodian territory, though the minister in charge of border issues has denied the accusation.

Asking to remain anonymous, residents near the Ton Hon Cambodia-Vietnam border checkpoint in Kampot province yesterday said some farmers’ crops had been destroyed by the planting of border posts.

That claim was made following confirmation yesterday that National Assembly President Heng Samrin had asked Prime Minister Hun Sen to investigate the situation, following a written request from opposition lawmaker Um Sam An on May 4.

The Cambodia National Rescue Party MP had previously visited the area and met with residents in mid-April.

He claims the border is currently marked along a canal dug by the Vietnamese in 1979, 1 kilometre from the correct frontier bisecting Prey Tameng creek. However, according to a May 11 letter sent to Samrin by the minister in charge of border affairs, Va Kimhong, not only has the border not been moved, but Prey Tameng creek is entirely within Vietnamese territory.