By Mao Pengfei

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 22 -- On February 19 and 20, the Cambodian defense ministry sent medical teams to Koh Kong Province in southwest Cambodia to vaccinate 1,200 border and coastal defense officers and soldiers with Chinese COVID-19 vaccines provided by the Chinese military.

The 16th batch of Chinese military medical experts to Cambodia, led by the Military Attache's Office of the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia, went to Koh Kong Province to assist the Cambodian medical personnel.

Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Gen. Tea Banh supervised the whole vaccination process. He said that Cambodia is very thankful for China's assistance of the precious vaccines in times of crisis. China not only trained Cambodian medical staff before the vaccination but also assisted in the vaccination sites of Phnom Penh and other places, which truly reflects the deep friendship between the two armed forces.

The Cambodian general expressed that he is very confident in the vaccines provided by the Chinese military and required the Cambodian military to organize inoculation as soon as possible to protect the health of officers and soldiers. The vaccination of Cambodian officers and soldiers with Chinese vaccines set a good example for the Cambodian people and also strengthened the confidence of the Cambodian military in fighting against COVID-19.

The vaccinated Cambodian officers and soldiers said that the pandemic prevention and control task in Cambodian border areas was relatively challenging due to the great pressure from imported cases. They thanked China for donating vaccines specifically to the Cambodian military and believed the Chinese vaccines can provide them with effective protection.

It is learnt that at the request of the Cambodian military and approved by China’s Central Military Commission (CMC), a batch of COVID-19 vaccines provided by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) were delivered to the Cambodian military on February 7. The Cambodian military was one of the first foreign troops to receive the PLA’s COVID-19 vaccine aid.