Trust building needed to solve Thai-Cambodian border dispute [-Is there any trust left?]

Jakarta, May 5 (ANTARA) - The border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia has escalated over the last couple of months and no concrete solution is in sight so far despite mediation efforts by Indonesia as the current ASEAN Chair.

The last time Cambodia and Thailand sit together with Indonesia as the facilitator was in the Joint Border Committee(JBC) Meeting in Bogor, West Java, on April 7-8, 2011, but, the meeting did not yield any significant result.

The matter was so complexed that it could not be solved in just one meeting, Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa said in Bogor, following the meeting on April 8.

"The Bogor meeting on Thursday and Friday was followed by an unofficial meeting on the next day between Indonesia, Cambodian Foreign Affairs Minister Hor Namhong and Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, as a part of diplomatic resolving option effort," Marty said.

In the upcoming 18th ASEAN Summit in Jakarta on May 7-8, the border conflict is most likely to be discussed.

Thailand-Cambodia conflict to be discussed at ASEAN summit

April 29, 2011
Xinhua

Indonesia's Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said on Thursday that the border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia would be discussed at the upcoming ASEAN Summit slated on May 7-8 in Jakarta.

"The conflict would be discussed at the ASEAN Summit on bilateral or trilateral basis," Natalegawa said after meeting with his Thai counterpart Kasit Piromya at his office.

As the rotating chair of ASEAN this year, Indonesia has proposed dialogue to end the the border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia. Both countries have agreed to settle the border dispute through diplomatic means involving ASEAN role.

Indonesia will deploy its observers on the disputed border to supervise the implementation of ceasefire agreement between the two countries.

Thailand Is Ready For JBC Meeting On Mar 27-28, Says Thai PM

BANGKOK, March 10 (Bernama) -- Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has affirmed that Thailand is ready for the next Thai-Cambodian Joint Border Commission (JBC) meeting, which is to be held in Indonesia from March 27-28, Thai News Agency (TNA) reported.

The meeting comes following months of fluctuating border tensions which reached their peak, with outbursts of violence, last month.

In response to Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong's recent announcement that Phnom Penh is ready to attend, the Thai Prime Minister said that he is hopeful that it will be the first step towards resolving bilateral problems, and that he has no problem with any third party bearing witness.

Cambodian officials tipped off Indonesia to 60kg heroin shipment

Fri, 21 Aug 2009
DPA

Phnom Penh - Cambodia tipped off Indonesian authorities about a shipment of 60 kilograms of heroin that was shipped through Cambodia by courier firm DHL, local media reported Friday. Indonesian customs officials seized the drugs at Jakarta's main airport and arrested the receiver earlier this week in the capital.

Mok Dara, head of Cambodia's anti-drug trafficking department, told the Phnom Penh Post newspaper that it was the first time that Cambodia had tipped off Indonesian authorities about a drug shipment.

"We have (in the past) had many successes, receiving appreciation from Thailand, Vietnam, India and China, all of whom we tipped off about drug smuggling through Cambodia," Mok Dara told the newspaper.

Cambodia's porous borders and institutional corruption have long made the kingdom a favoured transit country for trafficking.