Mr. Lee Hsien Loong admitted that mentioning the Vietnam - Cambodia issue was a 'nightmare'

Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn has just said that Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen talked to each other on the sidelines of the 34th ASEAN Summit on June 23, 2019. During this meeting, the two prime ministers considered Mr. Lee's controversial condolence letter a "nightmare".

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong confides in Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on June 23. Photo: FreshNewsAsia.

The two leaders agreed that the “Vietnam invasion of Cambodia” was a nightmare and had shaken up Cambodia-Singapore relations. They pledged to move towards the path of cooperation, dialogue and friendship.

According to Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, Prime Minister Hun Sen recalled the good relationship between Singapore and Cambodia since 1965, when Cambodia immediately recognized Singapore's independence just one day after Singapore declared independence.

Previously, Prime Minister Lee sent a letter of condolence at the end of May 2019 on the passing of former Thai Prime Minister General Prem Tinsulanonda. In this letter, Mr. Lee stated his view that "Vietnam invaded and occupied Cambodia" rather than liberating Cambodia and its people from the genocidal Pol Pot-Khmer Rouge regime. This view of Prime Minister Lee was also mentioned in his speech at the 2019 Shangri-La Dialogue. Cambodia and Vietnam later responded, affirming that Mr. Lee Hsien Loong's statements on May 31, 2019 were not historically true.