Abhisit blames Noppadol for on-going border conflicts with Cambodia

Noppadon Pattama (The Nation)

July 25, 2011
The Nation

Outgoing Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva Monday blamed former foreign minister Noppadon Pattama for conflicts between Thailand and Cambodia over the 4.6-kilometre plot near the Preah Vihear Temple.

Abhisit was responding to Noppadon's comment that the Abhisit government should have approached the border conflicts based on the measure agreed upon by the Samak Sundaravej Cabinet.

But Abhisit said Noppadon and the Samak Cabinet instead caused the current trouble having issuing a Cabinet resolution to allow Noppadon as the foreign minister to endorse Cambodia's unilateral registration of Preah Vihear as a world heritage site.

Thailand prepared to talk with Cambodia over land issue in Paris

By NNT
Pattaya Mail (Thailand)

BANGKOK, 20 May 2011-Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti expressed his readiness in attending a bilateral talk with Cambodia in Paris, adding that the problem began when the Preah Vihear was listed as one of the world’s heritage site.

According to Mr. Suwit, the talk will be held from 25-26 May, 2011 with Thailand standing firm on addressing the issue by determining the boundary on the Thai-Cambodian border first before a management plan around the temple is proposed.

Mr. Suwit said he would refer to how Cambodia had gone and listed the temple the heritage site without settling the demarcation issue with Thailand first. He said this had entailed a series of gunfights in the past couple of years over the frontier. In addition, he is expected to give a summary on the preparation on 23 May, 2011 after seeing Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

The Natural Resources and Environment Minister further explained that the Cambodian move to list Preah Vihear was unlawful and it failed to recognize the United Nations protocol on world heritage site since the country did not include the management plan around the temple as part of it was still located on the Thai soil. (sic!)

No one is talking about de-listing Preah Vihear Temple: Thai sore-losers

No one is talking about de-listing of the Temple of Phra Viharn: Thai PM

March 3, 2011
Source: Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs

On 3 March 2011, Mr. Thani Thongphakdi, Director-General of Department of Information and Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, responded to media enquiries regarding news reports that the Cambodian Prime Minister’s spokesperson had quoted Mr. Koichiro Matsuura, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Special Envoy, as saying that “Thailand has intention to ask UNESCO to de-list the Temple of Phra Viharn,” as follows:

1. The issue of de-listing of the Temple of Phra Viharn was neither raised by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva nor by Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya during their respective meetings with the UNESCO Special Envoy on 25 February 2011. In fact, when the UNESCO Special Envoy himself mentioned this issue, Prime Minister Abhisit responded that “no one is talking about de-listing”. In addition, after his meeting with the UNESCO Special Envoy, the Prime Minister also stated publicly to the media that Thailand recognized Phra Viharn Temple’s outstanding universal value as an important archaeological site that should be open to visitors from around the world.

Mission on Preah Vihear temple concludes successfully: UNESCO special envoy

March 02, 2011
Xinhua

Koichiro Matsuura, the special envoy of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said Tuesday afternoon his visit to Thailand and Cambodia on the issue of Preah Vihear temple come to a successful end.

"It's a very fruitful mission. I am very happy about that," Matsuura told reporters at Phnom Penh International Airport before leaving for Japan.

During a meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday, Matsuura told the premier that UNESCO would send its experts to evaluate and restore Preah Vihear temple in the future.

Asking at the airport on Tuesday, Matsuura did not say when UNESCO will send its experts to evaluate the temple's damages caused by more than 400 mortar and artillery shells fired by Thai troops in the clashes on Feb. 4-7.

Unesco Envoy Prepares To Assess Temple Damage

Koichiro Matsuura, a Unesco special envoy for the temple, will travel to Bangkok and Phnom Penh between Feb. 25 and March 1, Unesco said in a statement. (Photo: AP)

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington, DC Thursday, 24 February 2011

“It’s just to see how much damage there is and what kind of effective measures can prevent further, bigger incidents.”

A Unesco representative will meet with both Cambodian and Thai officials in coming days on a fact-finding mission over damage to Preah Vihear temple in recent clashes, officials said.

Koichiro Matsuura, a Unesco special envoy for the temple, will travel to Bangkok and Phnom Penh between Feb. 25 and March 1, Unesco said in a statement.

Cambodia officially requested that Unesco inspect Preah Vihear temple, which was damaged in deadly clashes along the Thai-Cambodian border earlier this month. However, Thailand has insisted the area remains too dangerous for an onsite visit.

Unesco officials declined to disclose further details of the visit, and Cambodian officials say that if the envoy makes a trip to the temple, it will not be disclosed to the public.

[Thai] PM: UNESCO special envoy to visit Bangkok, Phnom Penh next week

BANGKOK, Feb 19 (MCOT online news) - Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Saturday said the UNESCO chief agreed with Thailand that the management plan of the ancient Preah Vihear temple should not proceed until the border demarcation is concluded and that its special envoy will visit Bangkok and Phnom Penh next week to discuss the renewed border conflict.

The Thai premier made remarks as he talked with Irina Bokova, director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) by telephone over the tension between Thailand and Cambodia as a result of the listing of the Hindu temple as a World Heritage Site.

Mr Abhisit said the world body chief understands the situation and agreed with Thailand that the Preah Vihear management plan should not be conducted now as long as there is no conclusion to the Thai-Cambodian border conflict and clear demarcation which should be reached under the framework of the 2000 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission (JBC).

Thailand calls on UNESCO to postpone temple's listing

Feb 20, 2011
DPA

Bangkok - Thailand has asked the United Nations to postpone the World Heritage listing process of a millenial temple on its common border with Cambodia until a territorial dispute has been settled, the prime minister said Sunday.

Abhisit Vejjajiva in his weekly television broadcast said he made the request by telephone to Irina Bokova, director-general of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

'I think UNESCO now understands our position on the problems with Phra Viharn becoming a heritage site,' Abhisit said.

UNESCO will reportedly send a representative to Bangkok and Phnom Penh soon to hear both sides of the row over the 11th-century Hindu temple - called Preah Vihear by the Cambodians and Phra Viharn by the Thais - which broke out into a border clash on February 4-7 that claimed at least 10 lives.

Thai loser MPs cry over spilled milk

Govt MPs oppose listing of P.Vihear

16/02/2011
Bangkok Post

A total of 120 MPs of the Democrat Party and its coalition partners on Wednesday afternoon submitted a letter to House Speaker Chai Chidchob calling on him to ask Unesco to put the listing of Preah Vihear temple as a world heritage site on hold.

The letter was accepted by Deputy House Speaker Col Apiwon Wiriyachai.

MP Atthaporn Ponbutr said he and his colleagues oppose the listing of the ancient temple because the area around it is still in dispute and the scene of clashes between Thai and Cambodian troops from Feb 4 to 7 that caused death and injuriy to soldiers and civilians of both sides.

“There are photos which show that Cambodian troops used Preah Vihear temple as an operations base, which is a violation of the principle and conditions for listing of a world heritage site and has put the temple at risk of being damaged,” he said.

The Democrat list MP said if Unesco gives final approval to Cambodia’s listing request, the current bad ties between Bangkok and Phnom Penh will worsen. This could lead to confrontation and possibly war between the two neighbours, the Democrat list MP said.

Thai PM: UNESCO shall not proceed with Cambodia's temple plan [-Abhisit plays the spoiled brat]

BANGKOK, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Sunday said UNESCO could help alleviate the border tension between Thailand and Cambodia by not proceeding with any decision on administering a disputed area around a centuries-old temple.

Abhisit said the tension arose as Phnom Penh tried to push through with UNESCO, or the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and World Heritage committee its administering plan of a disputed area around the 11th century Preah Vihear temple.

He claimed that Cambodia needed to have its administering plan endorsed now as Phnom Penh unilaterally has the temple enlisted as a World Heritage site on July 7, 2008.

Both countries lay claim to a 4.6-square kilometer plot of land around the temple. "In the meantime, UNESCO or World Heritage should alleviate any pressure on either Cambodia or Thailand by not proceeding with any administering plan on the area disputed by Thailand and Cambodia," Abhisit said in his weekly national televised address.

Unesco to send envoy to Bangkok, Phnom Penh

February 12, 2011
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee,
Nuntida Phuangthong
The Nation

Meanwhile, Thailand's Joint Boundary Committee chief Asda Jayanama is in Paris to meet with Bokova to push for revocation of the temple's World Heritage status. Thailand wants Unesco to suspend the designation until the boundary conflict is settled. This dispute with Unesco is one of Thailand's many international battles against its smaller neighbour.

With its mission to inspect damage done to Preah Vihear Temple during the border skirmish blocked, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) said yesterday that it would send a special envoy to Bangkok and Phnom Penh soon to pave the way for a visit to the temple.

The border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia spilled over to Unesco, with the Abhisit government blaming the UN body for igniting the conflict by giving the temple a World Heritage Site designation in 2008.

Unesco announced earlier that it would dispatch an urgent mission to inspect the temple after Cambodia claimed the structure was partly damaged by Thai artillery shells during the skirmish from February 4 to 7.

The Thai government, however, is against the mission, saying any visit to the temple had to be permitted by Thai authorities, especially as officials will have to access the site via an area that comes under Thailand's sovereignty.

Shaky truce after fresh fighting [-Abishit cashing in on the clash in Preah Vihear?]

SOLDIER FALLS: The flag-draped body of Sgt Wutcharin Chartkhamdee, who was killed in the border clashes, arrives at Wat Siriwarawat in Si Sa Ket’s Kantharalak district.

SCHOOL CLOSED: The roof of a school in Si Sa Ket damaged by shells allegedly fired by Cambodian troops.

THAI SOLDIER KILLED, [THAI] GOVT THREATENS UNESCO REPRISAL, CAMBODIA GOES TO UN

6/02/2011

Wassana Nanuam & Agencies

Bangkok Post

Thailand is cranking up pressure on Cambodia over the disputed Preah Vihear temple, even as a shaky ceasefire holds after the worst border fighting in two years claimed at least five lives.

The government reached a ceasefire with Cambodia yesterday after a resumption of border clashes in the morning killed one Thai soldier, taking the Thai toll to two.

Cambodia has said two of its soldiers and one civilian were killed when fighting broke out on Friday, while Thailand said a villager on its side of the border also died.

The resumption of fighting has sent thousands of people living near the border fleeing for safety, and villagers on both sides have been evacuated.

As Cambodia yesterday released four Thai rangers seized when the clashes broke out on Friday, reports emerged that the Preah Vihear temple may have been damaged.

Television footage showed smoke plumes rising near the temple, which according to Cambodia suffered "serious" damage in the fighting.

[Thai] Senate to decide next Friday whether to impeach Noppadon

Noppadon Pattama (The Nation)

Friday, March 05, 2010
The Nation

The Senate will make a decision next Friday whether to impeach former foreign minister Noppadon Pattama retroactively for having signed a joint statement with Cambodia.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission recommended the Senate to impeach Noppadon for having signed the statement in support of Cambodia's unilateral registration of the Preah Vihear Temple as a world heritage.

The Senate Friday held a meeting to hear reasons of both Noppadon and the NACC representative before scheduling next Friday for making a decision.

After the three-hour meeting, Senate Speaker Prasopsuk Boondej said both the NACC and Noppadon would submit written statement to the chamber within Tuesday.

If retroactively impeached for violating the 2007 charter, Noppadon would be banned from politics for five years.

Govt rejects comments on PVihear plan

Monday, 15 February 2010
Vong Sokheng
The Phnom Penh Post

THE Council of Ministers issued a swift rebuke to Thailand’s environment minister on Friday, after the official was quoted as saying that Cambodia’s UNESCO World Heritage application for Preah Vihear temple was incomplete.

According to Bangkok’s The Nation newspaper, Thailand’s minister of environment, Suwit Khunkitti, said Thursday that officials from UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee had informed him that because Cambodia has not yet submitted site-management plans, the status of the Preah Vihear application remains unfinished.

“The uncertainty on Preah Vihear Temple listing will be resolved pending on the Thai-Cambodian cooperation to demarcate the borders,” Suwit reportedly said. Cambodia and Thailand have been working bilaterally to demarcate their shared border under the auspices of the Joint Border Commission.

On Friday, the Council of Ministers said in a statement that Suwit was “completely wrong for not fully updating the legal process of both the World Heritage Centre and the World Heritage Committee”.

“We deeply regret that Minister Suwit had made this pretentious and misleading statement regarding the inscription of the Temple of Preah Vihear with the purpose of poisoning the international community’s good will and cooperation, and tarnishing the positive image and good reputation of UNESCO and the World Heritage Committee,” the statement read.

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said Sunday that Cambodia submitted its site-management plan for Preah Vihear temple on January 28.

“Cambodia has filed the plan to meet the deadline of the World Heritage Committee, but Thailand continues to lie and manipulate information about the issue of Preah Vihear temple and the surrounding border,” Phay Siphan said. “There is no area of uncertainty about the listing, and this inscription is undoubtedly irreversible.”

Teruo Jinnai, representative of UNESCO in Cambodia, said Sunday that he believed the Preah Vihear application was complete.

“We were informed by the government that they had submitted their documents,” he said.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JAMES O’TOOLE

'Temple report given to WHC'

February 15, 2010
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation

The full management report for the Preah Vihear Temple as required by the World Heritage Committee was already submitted on January 28 without delay, the Cambodian government said over the weekend.

The Cambodian cabinet issued a statement explaining the status of the world heritage site after Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti said last week that Thailand would raise an objection, as the inscription of the Hindu temple on the list of World Heritage Sites was still incomplete.

The World Heritage Committee has no role in receiving any report from a state party to the 1972 Convention after the listing of any world heritage site, the Cambodian statement said.

After the world heritage listing process was completed in July 2008, Cambodia has fulfilled its obligation to submit periodical reports on the conservation and situation of the temple, it said.

The World Heritage Committee in its meeting last year in Spain required Cambodia to submit the full management plan by February 1.

Suwit said the listing process was incomplete, as Cambodia was not able to submit the plan due to the Thai objection.

Thailand is worried that Cambodia would designate 4.6 square kilometres of land claimed by both countries as a buffer zone for the world heritage property. The two countries are at loggerheads over border areas that have not yet been demarcated. The Cabinet instructed Thai officials to raise the issue in the next meeting of the World Heritage Committee in the middle of this year.

The Cambodian statement said the Thai minister should be well aware that the World Heritage Committee and the United Nations Educational, Science and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) have no role in the border issue, which is under the jurisdiction of the joint boundary committee of the two countries.

In the management plan, Cambodia said it is conscious of its "sovereignty" and the temple's outstanding universal value as well as its natural landscape and setting, the statement said.

With guidance from the World Heritage Committee, Unesco and international experts, Cambodia developed accessibility for the temple by improving the western approach road and preserving the eastern flight of steps, it said.

Thailand Continues Claims on Disputed Border

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
11 February 2010

Sean Pengse, a Cambodian border expert living in France, said the International Court in fact used the 1904-1908 map when deciding on Preah Vihear temple, thereby legitimizing Cambodia’s claims to the area.

While Bangkok continues to insist that a 4.6 kilometer stretch of land near Preah Vihear temple belongs to Thailand, Cambodian officials and border experts say the issue should be put to rest.

Phnom Penh claims the stretch of land, west of the 11th-Century temple, rightfully belongs to Cambodia, according to surveys and maps made in 1904 and 1908, when the country was under French protection. Thailand maintains that its own mapping of the area puts the strip of land under its possession.

The impasse over the area has stirred nationalistic sentiment on both sides, which have sent thousands of heavily armed troops to adjacent positions, leading to several skirmishes over the past 19 months and the deaths of at least eight soldiers.

Neither side has been able to diffuse the situation, while rhetoric between prime ministers Abhisit Vijjajiva of Thailand and Hun Sen of Cambodia has escalated in recent days, culminating in Hun Sen calling Abhisit “stupid” and “crazy” on Monday.

The Thai News Agency this week quoted Abhisit saying the Thai government will not give up the contested strip of land.

The news agency also reported that Thailand would petition Unesco to review a map submitted by Cambodia in 2008, when Preah Vihear temple was award World Heritage status under Cambodian ownership.

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan told VOA Khmer Tuesday such claims showed a misunderstanding of the law by Thai officials.

“Unesco does not have any jurisdiction to make a judgment over land at all,” he said.

Cambodian officials have said Thailand lobbied Unesco using its own map. Thailand may petition again, officials said, because representatives of the UN body, which protects cultural heritage, have changed.

Cambodia’s map was recognized by the International Court of Justice in 1962, when it ruled that Preah Vihear temple belonged to Cambodia, Phay Siphan said.

However, Thai spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said Tuesday that the 1962 decision did not include the 4.6 kilometers of land now claimed by both sides.

Sean Pengse, a Cambodian border expert living in France, said the International Court in fact used the 1904-1908 map when deciding on Preah Vihear temple, thereby legitimizing Cambodia’s claims to the area.

The Thai authorities “can do whatever, but the decision is legitimate and uses this French map,” he told VOA Khmer.

Cambodia failed a chance to resolve the matter when it did not immediately file a complaint with the UN Security Council when Thai troops occupied a pagoda in the disputed area in July 2008, sparking the standoff.

Panitan said Tuesday both sides remained committed to solving the problem bilaterally and asked that other countries not interfere. Thailand was pleased with Hun Sen’s commitment to bilateral talks, he added.

The problem will be solved ahead of a Unesco World Heritage meeting scheduled for later this year, he said.

The committee is scheduled to meet July 25 through Aug. 3 in Brasilia, Brazil. Cambodian officials say they will submit a plan for the conservation of Preah Vihear temple at the meeting.

Listing of Preah Vihear Temple incomplete pending border demarcation [-A new Siamese trick?]

February 11, 2010
The Nation

Thailand has been notified by the Unesco's World Heritage Committee that the process to list Preah Vihear Temple as World Heritage Site remains incomplete because Cambodia has yet to file its site management plan which hinges, in turn, on the border demarcation.

"The uncertainty on Preah Vihear Temple listing will be resolved pending on the Thai-Cambodian cooperation to demarcate the borders," Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti said on Thursday.

[Thai] Judge calls for [Preah Vihear joint communique] case to be dismissed

30/12/2009
Bangkok Post

An Administrative Court judge has recommended that the case involving a joint communique supporting Cambodia's listing of Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site be dismissed.

Prasak Siripanich made his recommendation yesterday before other judges during the case's first hearing.

The case has lost its validity, he said.

The court is scheduled to deliver its official verdict on the case today.

The case was filed on June 24 last year by 13 people including senators, academics and human rights activists.

In their complaint, they asked the court to revoke the June 17 cabinet resolution supporting the joint communique.

They also accused then foreign minister Noppadon Pattama and the Samak Sundaravej administration of violating the law by endorsing the communique.

The joint declaration was signed by Mr Noppadon and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An on June 18, a day after the Samak administration gave it the green light.

Mr Prasak said the joint communique was no longer valid because the Administrative Court, on June 28 last year, issued an injunction ordering its suspension. The Supreme Administrative Court later upheld the ruling.

In addition, the Constitutional Court ruled the joint communique was unconstitutional because it was not given parliamentary approval as required under Section 190 of the charter.

After the Supreme Administrative Court upheld the injunction, Mr Noppadon sent letters asking Cambodian officials, the Unesco World Heritage Committee (WHC) and related organisations to disregard the joint communique during a meeting on world heritage sites held in Quebec, Canada.

The Unesco director-general then sent a letter on July 8 last year stating that the WHC had not used the joint declaration as a basis for approving the listing of Preah Vihear.

In November 2008, the Somchai Wongsawat administration revoked the June 17 resolution approving the communique.

As such, the June 17 cabinet resolution supporting the communique was no longer legally binding and there were no grounds for the case to proceed, Mr Prasak said.

Anti-graft Panel Postpones Ruling on Phreah Vihear Case

22 September 2009
Thai-ASEAN News Network

The National Anti-Corruption Commission has postponed its ruling on the Preah Vihear joint communique case against the Samak Sundaravej administration. The deputy prime minister for national security sees no need for a Cabinet reshuffle if the panel delivers a guilty verdict despite the inclusion of four Cabinet members as defendants.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission, or NACC, has postponed its ruling on the Samak Sundaravej Cabinet's endorsement of the joint communique that supported Cambodia to list the ancient Preah Vihear Temple as its world heritage site to Septmber 29. The panel said its investigation report is still not completed.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban urged all sides not to try to predict the outcome of the case and said there is still no need to reshuffle the Cabinet or dissolve the House even though the NACC's ruling could have bearing on the status of four current ministers who were members of the Samak Cabinet.

The four are Deputy PM Sanan Kajornprasart, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti, ICT Minister Ranongruk Suwanchawee and Deputy Finance Minister Pradit Pataraprasit.

Suthep also revealed whips of the government, the Opposition and the Senate will hold a meeting to decide how to proceed with the planned constitution amendment after the prime minister returns from his trip to the United States.

At the same time, Foreign Minister Kasit Priomya said via video conference from the US that he is worried about the morale of his ministry's officials who have also been named as defendants in the case. The minister said he will seek ways to help officials indicted by the NACC after the case is finalized in court.

Kasit also said he and the prime minister did not discuss the clash between the People's Alliance for Democracy and Si Sa Ket residents near the Preah Vihear border last Saturday.

Meanwhile, representative of a civil network, Tul Sitthisomyong, submitted a petition with the NACC seeking legal action against 124 MPs and senators who signed the motion for a charter rewrite. Tul said the law offence has already been committed although they have already withdrawn their names from the petition.

[Thailand's] Ruling on Preah Vihear charge deferred

BANGKOK, Sept 22 (TNA) - Thailand's National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) on Tuesday postponed its ruling on the previous government's resolution which supported Cambodia's listing of the Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site.

It agreed to reconvene and decide the issue next Tuesday.

The NACC decided last November to press charges against 44 persons including 28 Cabinet members in the Samak administration and state officials in connection with the signing of a joint communique with Cambodia without seeking parliamentary approval as required by the Constitution.

The joint communique was signed by the Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An on June 18, 2008.

NACC Commissioner Klanarong Chantik said the NACC agreed to consider the case on two separate issues: impeachment and criminal prosecution following the Constitutional Court's ruling that the joint communique was unconstitutional.

He said the anti-graft commission would tackle whether each of the 44 was intentionally involved in malfeasance that caused damages to the country.

The commission, he added, has finished its investigation on 12 people while the other 32 would be scrutinised and disclosed next Tuesday.

Of the 28 accused ministers, four are members of the Abhisit government. They include Deputy Prime Minister Sanan Kachornprasart, Deputy Finance Minister Pradit Pattaraprasit, Information and Communication Technology Minister Ranongrak Suwanchawee and Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suvit Khunkitti.

The accused were charged with negligence of duty and violating Article 190 of the 2007 Constitution which imposes that any treaty affecting Thailand's society, economy and integrity of its borders must be approved by Parliament.

Suwit Khunkitti admitted Preah Vihear had already been listed as a world heritage site: Thailand wishy-washy claims

Suwit defends his Preah Vihear role

2/07/2009
BangkokPost.com

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti on Thursday insisted he was able to get Thailand about one year of extra time to raise its concerns over the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's (Unesco) listing of Preah Vihear temple as a world heritage site.

Mr Suwit admitted Preah Vihear had already been listed as a world heritage site, as Pongpol Adireksarn, former chairman of the Thai World Heritage Committee, had said.

But Cambodia had yet to formally complete its obligations by presenting a management plan for safeguarding and developing the temple, including a map of the buffer zone around the site.

Because of Thailand's opposition to the listing, coupled with Cambodia's inability to submit its plan by February this year, the WHC decided to give Cambodia until next February to do so.

This has given Thailand the opportunity to raise its concerns over its border dispute with Cambodia, said Mr Suwit.

Mr Suwit said Unesco has been told the two countries have not been able to settle their border dispute. "We need to explore ways of settling the dispute to end the Thai-Cambodian conflict over the listing of Preah Vihear," he added.

Asked whether Thailand would try to seek a bilateral listing of the temple, Mr Suwit said this could be done only after the disputed border has been clearly demarcated.