BATTAMBANG: During the inauguration ceremony of the first phase of the new section of National Road No. 5, connecting Battambang to Serey Sophorn, Prime Minister Hun Sen sent a congratulatory message to Japan for its 30th Anniversary of UN Peacekeeping Operations (PKOs) in Cambodia.

He expressed his profound thanks to Japan for the country's contribution to the peace negotiation process in the 1980s, and the first Japan PKO in Cambodia in the 1990s.

He stated that 2022 is the 30th Anniversary of Japan’s Peace Keeping Operations in Cambodia, so he would be looking into organizing some special activities to commemorate this historical event.

He extended his condolences for the two-Japanese nationals that lost their lives in Cambodia during the UN Peacekeeping operations, and also mentioned that the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship will be docking in Cambodia.

Together with Peacekeepers from other countries, eight Japanese personnel were dispatched from September 1992 to March 1993 as officials from the Japan Self-Defense Forces to UNTAC as cease-fire observers.

They were responsible for monitoring the cease-fire and supervising encampments storing weapons collected from disarmed Cambodian soldiers of all factions.

The Japanese officials monitored the cease-fire at checkpoints along the border to detect any infiltration of other forces or smuggling of weapons and ammunition.