Phnom Penh (FN), May 5 – The Ministry of Defense (MoD) released a statement on Friday rejecting a recent Radio Free Asia (RFA) broadcast.

On Thursday, RFA reported that the “Laotian Military (Is) Creating New Bunkers Bordering Stoeung Treng Province”.

The MoD’s spokesman, Chhum Socheat, considered the news "false" and implied that the story had not undergone proper due diligence, leading to public confusion.

“News publicized by RFA was exaggerated and has affected national security,” stated a MoD spokesperson.

“The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces are guarding the border with Laos. There are no Laotian military bunkers, as publicized by RFA,” he added.

RFA produced the story that Laotian armed forces were preventing Cambodia from constructing strategic border road using information from an anonymous source.

In Feb. 8th 2017, there was a 10-day standoff between Cambodia and Laos at the border due to the construction of a strategic road in Stoeung Treng.

The tension arose when the Laotian military blocked Cambodian construction engineers from building the road.

Laos apparently mistakenly believed that the had entered into Laos's territory, according to one military official.

In response, both governments called for a meeting on Feb. 22nd to resolve the issues.

Laos was willing to cooperate and there are talks about making the border a region of peace and development.
=FRESH NEWS