Bernama (Malaysia)
BANGKOK, April 5 — With rising tension along their border in Si Sa Ket following the death of four soldiers during clashes on Friday, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen will hold talks on the sideline of the East Asian Summit next week.
In his weekly television address, Abhisit said he would find an amicable solution to the conflict which started last year after Cambodia went ahead with its plan to list the ancient temple of Preah Vihear located there as a World Heritage site despite protests from Thailand.
Abhisit said he and his deputy Suthep Thaugsuban were in regular contact with their Cambodian counterparts to ease tensions, adding that both countries had already agreed to let the Thai-Cambodia Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary (JBC) to negotiate and solve the issue.
The JBC is expected to meet in Phnom Penh on Monday.
"Now I believe the situation is getting better. I will take this issue to the Asean+3 and + 6 meetings in Pattaya," said Abhisit, who himself is facing
severe domestic pressure as supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra are planning a mammoth gathering in the capital on Wednesday to seek his ouster.
Abhisit's Democrat Party spokesman Theptai Senapong had even claimed that Thaksin, who has been living in exile since his ouster except for a brief period when he returned home, was hiding in Cambodia.
Abhisiit said although the temple dispute had existed for decades, it became more serious after Cambodia offered the temple as a World Heritage site and was approved by Unesco.
The officials said the situation now was calm and there were no fresh exchange of gunfire or mortar explosions.
Thai Army Chief General Anupong Paochinda had said that the incidents were due "misunderstanding" after soldiers from both sides stationed on the disputed border area thought that each side had intruded into each's other's territory.
Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat had said that the Friday clashes happened following an incident in which a Thai soldier stepped on a landmine, believed to be laid recently, leaving him with a shattered leg.
In the aftermath, Thai troops visited the blast site to investigate the incident and then encountered an intrusion by approximately 20 Cambodian troops, encroaching into the area which is within Thai territory.
The Thais insisted that both sides troops engaged in clashes at Phu Makhua, an area under Thai sovereignty.
BANGKOK, April 5 — With rising tension along their border in Si Sa Ket following the death of four soldiers during clashes on Friday, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen will hold talks on the sideline of the East Asian Summit next week.
In his weekly television address, Abhisit said he would find an amicable solution to the conflict which started last year after Cambodia went ahead with its plan to list the ancient temple of Preah Vihear located there as a World Heritage site despite protests from Thailand.
Abhisit said he and his deputy Suthep Thaugsuban were in regular contact with their Cambodian counterparts to ease tensions, adding that both countries had already agreed to let the Thai-Cambodia Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary (JBC) to negotiate and solve the issue.
The JBC is expected to meet in Phnom Penh on Monday.
"Now I believe the situation is getting better. I will take this issue to the Asean+3 and + 6 meetings in Pattaya," said Abhisit, who himself is facing
severe domestic pressure as supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra are planning a mammoth gathering in the capital on Wednesday to seek his ouster.
Abhisit's Democrat Party spokesman Theptai Senapong had even claimed that Thaksin, who has been living in exile since his ouster except for a brief period when he returned home, was hiding in Cambodia.
Abhisiit said although the temple dispute had existed for decades, it became more serious after Cambodia offered the temple as a World Heritage site and was approved by Unesco.
The officials said the situation now was calm and there were no fresh exchange of gunfire or mortar explosions.
Thai Army Chief General Anupong Paochinda had said that the incidents were due "misunderstanding" after soldiers from both sides stationed on the disputed border area thought that each side had intruded into each's other's territory.
Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat had said that the Friday clashes happened following an incident in which a Thai soldier stepped on a landmine, believed to be laid recently, leaving him with a shattered leg.
In the aftermath, Thai troops visited the blast site to investigate the incident and then encountered an intrusion by approximately 20 Cambodian troops, encroaching into the area which is within Thai territory.
The Thais insisted that both sides troops engaged in clashes at Phu Makhua, an area under Thai sovereignty.
6 comments:
The Siem strategy is to tell the world that they are willing to talk. However, they are fighting us. This strategy is too junior with the experience Cambodian arm forces.
Siem soldiers are not fighting cock but cock for making soup. Siem is buidling up enemy around themslves while they are facing with their internal problem. It is moving toward the end of its properous society which they stole from neighboring countries during the 1970's and 80's.
Fail the invasion strategy of the Thais?
Take the case to the UN.
Take the case to UN. Asian is too bias to deal with this issue as long as Thai is the Asean chairman.
This article write nothing about Cambodia side of view... That tells a lot about their professionalism.
10:28PM,
I know what you means. Cambodia side has to wait for Khiev Khannarith, a hyper rationalist.
i know, they (siem) obvious never experience war and thus they don't know how to foster peace and friendship with cambodia and other neighbors. they are only creating problem for themselves into the future. watch, when the USA abandon them like it did with cambodia before the KR took over, they will see more suffering for their country! cambodia had already been there done that, maybe it's thailand or siem's turn to go through what cambodia went through in the 1970s and 1980s! god bless cambodia.
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