Cambodia struggles with porous border as pandemic takes hold As Covid-19 cases surge in Southeast Asia, illegal border crossings are being blamed for the spread A woman carries food past a barricade set up in Cambodian capital Phnom Penh due to lockdown restrictions introduced to try to halt a surge in Covid-19 cases. (Photo: Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP) Cambodia’s notoriously porous border has a long history of smuggling, ranging from human trafficking and drugs to petrol and ancient Buddhist artifacts, by crime bosses who took a strategic view of the country and its access to neighbors and the coast.