Crossword Genius

Asian river snake bites diva in half, close to vein (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

cambodian

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'asian' is the definition.
(I know that Cambodian is a type of asian)

'river snake bites diva in half close to vein' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'river' could be 'cam' (river in Cambridge, England) and 'cam' is present in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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