By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has urged Thailand to withdraw its 30 troops stationed around Preah Vihear Temple, to defuse the stand-off at the border.
Hun Sen said he told Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaug-suban during his visit to Phnom Penh last week that the Thai side must not fly military aircraft over Cambodian territory.
He told Suthep that Cambodian forces had recently been equipped with modern ground-to-air missiles, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Second Army Area commander Lt-General Wiboonsak Neeparn said he contacted his Cambodian counterpart, Lt-General Chea Mon, to consult with him about troop redeployment.
"If we don't talk to each other, there could be a misunderstanding, due to misinformation," he said.
Thailand has no intention of using force to solve the dispute, he said.
Tensions along the border near Preah Vihear have intensified since Thailand maintained its objection to the temple's World Heritage status at the 33rd session of the World Heritage Committee in Spain last month.
The Thai complaint, however, made no difference to the World Heritage Committee, which had decided to list the Khmer sanctuary as a World Heritage Site a year ago.
Its decision issued at its meeting in Spain simply requested that Cambodia submit details of its plan for safeguarding and developing the site by next February 1.
Cambodia was due to submit the details this past February, but Phnom Penh made its first report to the committee in April with some information missing, such as a map delineating the buffer zone around the temple.
However, Natural Resource and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti, who attended the meeting in Spain, told local media the committee decided to delay its decision to list Preah Vihear until next February after his heavy lobbying.
Pongpol Adireksarn, former chairman of Thailand's National World Heritage Committee, accused Suwit of twisting the Spanish meeting's decision.
The committee has agreed to extend the time frame for the site-management plan because Cambodia has not yet submitted sufficient documentation, not because of any objections from Thailand, he said.
Hun Sen said he told Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaug-suban during his visit to Phnom Penh last week that the Thai side must not fly military aircraft over Cambodian territory.
He told Suthep that Cambodian forces had recently been equipped with modern ground-to-air missiles, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Second Army Area commander Lt-General Wiboonsak Neeparn said he contacted his Cambodian counterpart, Lt-General Chea Mon, to consult with him about troop redeployment.
"If we don't talk to each other, there could be a misunderstanding, due to misinformation," he said.
Thailand has no intention of using force to solve the dispute, he said.
Tensions along the border near Preah Vihear have intensified since Thailand maintained its objection to the temple's World Heritage status at the 33rd session of the World Heritage Committee in Spain last month.
The Thai complaint, however, made no difference to the World Heritage Committee, which had decided to list the Khmer sanctuary as a World Heritage Site a year ago.
Its decision issued at its meeting in Spain simply requested that Cambodia submit details of its plan for safeguarding and developing the site by next February 1.
Cambodia was due to submit the details this past February, but Phnom Penh made its first report to the committee in April with some information missing, such as a map delineating the buffer zone around the temple.
However, Natural Resource and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti, who attended the meeting in Spain, told local media the committee decided to delay its decision to list Preah Vihear until next February after his heavy lobbying.
Pongpol Adireksarn, former chairman of Thailand's National World Heritage Committee, accused Suwit of twisting the Spanish meeting's decision.
The committee has agreed to extend the time frame for the site-management plan because Cambodia has not yet submitted sufficient documentation, not because of any objections from Thailand, he said.
4 comments:
We’re certainly don’t want to be on the trajectory, which ineluctably put us on a glide path on the warpath with our neighbor, when we still have diplomatic options in which we can resolve this conflict-plagued issue in an effort to forestall future war; however, the Thai will have to do their share.
PPU
Cambodia is done with the negotiation. The thais will always change their agenda so we should not bother with their flipflop. It's time to fight and teach these thais a lesson.
Meeting is useless (only talking without any specific result due to the Thai side did not respect what have been agreed)...Fighting is not good option but it is our last choice for self-defence !!!
Builder will win Invader for sure...Bravo Cambodia...
In the past, we have had used all diplomatic means to resolve conflict-plauged issue on the territorial disputed area, yet the Thai government has repeatedly violated Cambodia's sovereignty and utterly ignored, disregarded, and disrespected principal issue. Therefore, as of today, we have exhausted all of our diplomatic options. At this point in time, all the options are on the table. Moreover, the diplomatic channels are still open -- this time it's only if the Thai promise not to encroach into our sovereignty.
PPU
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