Thirteen Vietnamese fishermen detained by a fishing community in Kampot province on Sunday morning were deported back to their home country yesterday, officials have revealed.

Koy Khun Hour, Kampot provincial governor, said yesterday that the men had been handed over to Vietnam in accordance with a cross-border fishing territory agreement.

The fishermen will not face fines for encroaching on Cambodian waters, he added, as the authorities in Vietnam’s Kieng Yeng province have returned Cambodian fishermen without fines in the past.

Khun Hour added that it was not clear whether the men were apprehended in Cambodian waters, as no accurate maps exist of the sea boundaries.

The maritime boundary remains, if only technically, in dispute, following treaties signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen which opposition supporters often claim ceded Koh Tral, known in Vietnamese as Phu Quoc, to Vietnam.