DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “Cambodia, Thailand to enhance cooperation in fighting cross border crimes” plus 1 more

PHNOM PENH, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia and Thailand agreed Friday to enhance cooperation to fight against all forms of illegal cross-border activities, a joint statement said.

The agreement was made between Cambodian defense minister Tea Banh and his Thai counterpart Gen. Sukumpol Suwanatat at the 9th General Border Committee, which was held in Rayong province, Thailand on Friday.

"Both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation to prevent and crack down on illegal activities along the border such as drug trafficking, illegal logging, and illegal border crossing," said a joint statement released by Cambodian defense ministry. "The two ministers also agreed to enhance maritime security."

They also agreed to cooperate to improve livelihoods for peoples living along the border through the development of tourism, education and public health, it said.

In addition, both sides commended the two countries' Joint Working Group for fruitful discussions towards landmine clearance in the World Court-defined Provisional Demilitarized Zone (PDZ) surrounding Cambodia's Preah Vihear Temple.

"Moreover, the two ministers vowed to release only accurate and positive information in regard to border issues in order to strengthen mutual trust and respect," the statement said.

Cambodia and Thailand have had sporadic border conflicts over the territorial dispute near Cambodia's Preah Vihear Temple since the UNESCO listed the temple as a World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008. Thailand claims the ownership of 4.6 square kilometers of scrub next to the temple.

Deadly clashes between the both sides' troops happened in February and April 2011 during the rule of former Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

Military tensions have eased since August 2011 when ex-Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's Pheu Thai Party won a general election and led the current government.

Last month, the two countries delivered their oral statements on the dispute to the World Court in the Netherlands and the court is expected to issue a decision on who owns the disputed land around the temple later this year.

PHNOM PENH, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC) on Friday urged all factories in Cambodia to focus on safety standards in order to avoid any incident of building collapse in the future.

The appeal was made after a partial collapse of a concrete ceiling in Wing Star Shoes, a China's Taiwanese-owned factory, in Kampong Speu province on Thursday, left 2 workers dead and 9 seriously injured.

"The partial collapse of the shoe factory on Thursday is an important experience for us," GMAC's president Van Sou Ieng told reporters in a press briefing on Friday. "I will write a letter to urge all GMAC members to focus on safety standards and all construction must be controlled by engineers."

He said GMAC will convince a meeting with all its members on May 28 in order to disseminate measures to prevent such incident in the future.

Van Sou Ieng said the factory owner was fully responsible for the incident on Thursday, and it provided compensation of 5,000 U. S. dollars to each family of the dead and 1,000 U.S. dollars to each of injured workers.

Employing about 7,000 workers, Wing Star Shoes factory produces running shoes for Japanese sportswear maker Asics Corp.

Police blamed the ceiling collapse to "technical error in building construction" and "factory owner's neglect".

Garment industry is the country's largest income earner, representing more than 80 percent of the country's exports.

The latest report of the Ministry of Commerce showed that currently, the country has about 500 garment and footwear factories employing some 510,600 workers. Last year, the country exported garment products in equivalent to 4.6 billion U.S. dollars, up 8 percent year-on-year.