A Cambodian man was left dead after a group of fishermen from Kampot province clashed with Vietnamese fishermen while at sea on Sunday evening, according to officials. At about 8 p.m. Sunday, a vigilante squad of some 30 fishing boats from Troeuy Koh commune in Kampot City surrounded a pair of Vietnamese boats trawling off the coast, according to provincial governor Khoy Khun Hour. Shortly after, boats collided following the arrival of a third Vietnamese vessel to assist the two that had been surrounded, he said, resulting in the death of Ey Youb, 42. “It was an accident and we regret that someone has died,” Mr. Khun Hour said. “If our Khmer fishermen had seen Vietnamese come into Cambodia and reported it to authorities, then this might not have happened.”
Mr. Khun Hour said the two nations have an agreement to share the waters between Kampot and the Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc—which lies about 12 km offshore—and that the volatile situation had erupted after each side accused the other of fishing in their waters. “[The Cambodians] know Vietnam has big boats but they still go to face them,” he said.
