Thai officials visit Cambodia Saturday to clarify stance on Preah Vihear issue

BANGKOK, June 23 (TNA) - Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban on Tuesday said he will visit Cambodia Saturday on a mission to clarify Thailand's objection to the listing of the Preah Vihear temple ruins as a World Heritage Site to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) agreed to register Preah Vihear as a World Heritage Site of Cambodia in July, 2008.

Mr. Suthep said he and Defence Minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan would visit Cambodia to meet Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to stave off any misunderstanding on the Preah Vihear issue between the two neighbouring countries.

He said Thailand and Cambodia had shared common stance to avoid border conflicts and the issue at the moment was not between Thailand and Cambodia, but Thailand and UNESCO's World Heritage Committee.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit said earlier the government would ask UNESCO's World Heritage Committee to review last year's decision to register Preah Vihear as a World Heritage Site when the meets this week in Spain.

He would also propose that the temple be registered jointly as a World Heritage Site by Thailand and Cambodia, not as a unilateral action by Cambodia.

Mr. Suthep said he hoped that after meeting, Mr. Hun Sen would better understand Thailand's stance.

In 1962 the International Court of Justice ruled that Preah Vihear belongs to Cambodia, but the most accessible entrance begins at the foot of a mountain in Thailand, and both sides claim overlapping portions of the surrounding territory.

Armed clashes between the two military forces have since then occurred periodically near the temple, especially in a 4.6-square-kilometre disputed area.

Meeting fails to reach deal on troop cuts

Claims over border line must be settled first

30/04/2009
By WASSANA NANUAM
Bangkok Post

SIEM REAP : Thailand and Cambodia have failed to reach an agreement to reduce troops in the disputed area near Preah Vihear temple.

Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon and his Cambodian counterpart Tea Banh agreed at the General Border Committee meeting which ended yesterday that they would not withdraw their troops until the dispute over the border line was settled.

The two countries have a heavy troop presence close to Preah Vihear temple, an area of 4.6 sq km claimed by both Phnom Penh and Bangkok, and Wat Kaew Sikha Khiri Sawara Keo Sekha Kiri Svarak, a temple in the overlapping area.

Questions over who should have sovereignty over the disputed area are being handled by the Joint Boundary Commission. "We will wait until the JBC settles the border issue, then begin talks on troop withdrawal," Gen Prawit said.

Thailand said before the meeting it would propose troop reductions and the reopening of Preah Vihear, which is also accessible from Kantharalak district in Si Sa Ket.

But Gen Prawit said the issue was not high on the agenda at the meeting. "Actually, we did not talk much about the Preah Vihear issue.

"We have focused on attempts to strengthen military relations," he said.

The two countries signed an agreement setting out 17 areas of cooperation. These include border security, land border surveys and demarcation, labour issues, drug suppression, counter-terrorism, demining and maritime security.

Gen Tea Banh said Cambodia wanted to talk about cuts in troop numbers and troop withdrawals soon.

"We want everything to return to the situation as it was before July 14 last year," Gen Tea Banh said.

But the two sides first had to follow the procedures set out by the JBC.

Gen Tea Banh said he would make sure Cambodian troops positioned close to the Thai soldiers would maintain discipline. They would not be allowed to drink alcohol.

Gen Prawit led the Thai delegation made up of the supreme commander, the commanders of the three armed forces and the national police chief.

An army source said a combined 3,000 troops were based in the disputed area. About 30 troops each from Thailand and Cambodia are deployed at Wat Kaew Sikha Khiri Sawara Keo Sekha Kiri Svarak.

Cambodian, Thai border talks end with no agreement [-Another useless talk with Thailand]

Thursday, April 30, 2009

SIEM REAP, Cambodia (AFP) — Cambodian and Thai defence ministers on Wednesday concluded border talks but said they could not agree to pull back troops from a tense territorial dispute near an ancient temple.

At least seven Thai and Cambodian troops have been killed in recent months in sporadic clashes between the neighbouring countries on disputed land around the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple.

Cambodian defence minister Tea Banh and his Thai counterpart Prawit Wongsuwan began this week's talks by playing a round of golf in the northwestern tourist hub of Siem Reap on Tuesday.

The pair hailed progress by border negotiators from both countries, but Thailand's Prawit told reporters after talks finished Wednesday that troops would remain in place until the border was demarcated.

"The issue of troop pullback... from the area near Preah Vihear temple depends on the negotiation related to border demarcation that has not been agreed yet," Prawit told reporters in a joint press conference.

Tea Banh added that both countries were using all means possible to resolve the border dispute.

Troops from the two countries have been in a border standoff since tensions flared last July, when the cliff-top temple was awarded United Nations World Heritage status.

Ownership of the temple was awarded to Cambodia in 1962 but the two countries are in dispute over five square kilometres (two square miles) of land around it that has yet to be officially demarcated.

Cambodia, Thai defense chiefs to meet on border cooperation

PHNOM PENH, April 28 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Cambodian and Thai defense ministers met Tuesday in Cambodia's northern province of Siem Reap in an attempt to ease border tensions between the two nations, a senior Cambodian defense official said.

Nem Sowath, chief of staff for Cambodia's defense minister, told Kyodo News by telephone that technical teams from the two countries also met Tuesday to pave the way for further discussions by the defense chiefs on Wednesday.

Nem Sowath said issues of border and military cooperation are on the agenda and both governments are committed to avoiding military clashes.

Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh and his Thai counterpart Prawit Wongsuwon jointly chair the General Border Commission between Cambodia and Thailand.

The commission holds annual meetings alternately in Cambodia and Thailand. Last year's meeting was held in Thailand.

Cambodian and Thai troops began confronting each other near Cambodia's ancient temple of Preah Vihear in July last year. There have been several gun battles and numerous soldiers from both sides have been killed or injured.

The confrontation covers an area of 4.6 square kilometers of territory disputed by the two countries. Both sides have refused for nearly 10 months to back away from their positions.

Thai Defence Minister leads military chiefs to Cambodian border session

BANGKOK, April 28 (TNA) - Defence Minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan on Tuesday led Thailand’s military chiefs to participate the 6th Thai-Cambodian General Border Committee (GBC) in Siam Reap through Wednesday.

Supreme Commander Gen. Songkitti Jaggabatara and the Royal Thai Army, Navy and Air Force chiefs accompanied the defence minister to also attend the meeting.

Gen. Prawit said before leaving for Cambodia that 17 general border issues relating to the two countries would be raised at the meeting including trade and public health.

Channels to lead to the peaceful everyday living on the part of the peoples of both countries will be discussed at the meeting, he said.

However, the defence minister said, the border disputes themselves are not be on the agenda of the bilateral talks on Tuesday and Wednesday as there is another Thai-Cambodian joint committee to tackle the problem.

"If there is any problem, I can make direct telephone call to Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh," he said.

He added that the talks on the two countries’ border disputes will continue as the two countries still have different maps on the disputed area.

Gen. Prawit also added that he is not assigned to discuss with the Cambodian delegation regarding the status of convicted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra who reportedly holds a Cambodian passport.

The issue was the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he said, adding that, the defence ministry would find the ways for the two countries' people to live peacefully and support cross-border trade at the border checkpoints.

Ministers' 'golf diplomacy'

Cambodian and Thai defence ministers on Tuesday teed off in a spot of golf diplomacy ahead of talks aimed at resolving a deadly territorial dispute. (PHOTO: AFP)

April 28, 2009
AFP

PHNOM PENH - CAMBODIAN and Thai defence ministers on Tuesday teed off in a spot of golf diplomacy ahead of talks aimed at resolving a deadly territorial dispute, officials said.

Cambodia's defence minister Tea Banh and his Thai counterpart Prawit Wongsuwan played a round in the northwestern tourist hub of Siem Reap with other military officials ahead of their Wednesday border negotiations.

'We are playing golf with the Thai delegation now,' General Neang Phat told AFP by telephone, declining to give more details about the planned discussions.

Var Kimhong, the chairman of Cambodia's border committee, said the meeting would focus on general matters surrounding their long-running border feud.

'We will talk about the border issue,' said Var Kimhong, who will also attend the meeting.

Military officials from the two countries also golfed together in Siem Reap last October after four Thai and Cambodian soldiers were killed in fighting on disputed land around 11th-century Preah Vihear temple.

However that did not defuse tensions enough to prevent further border gunbattles, which killed three Thai soldiers early this month.

Troops from the two countries have been in a border standoff since tensions flared last July, when the cliff-top temple was awarded United Nations World Heritage status.

Ownership of the temple was awarded to Cambodia in 1962 but the two countries are in dispute over five square kilometres of land around the temple which has yet to be officially demarcated.

Prawit visits Cambodia, not talk about Thaksin's passport

April 28, 2009
The Nation

Defence Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan left for an official visit to Cambodia Tuesday morning.

Speaking to reporters before leaving, Prawit said that during the talk with the Cambodian government, he would not mention reports that Cambodia had issued a passport for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Prawit said the talk would focus on Thai-Cambodian disputes.

Cambodia-Thai border talks

Feb 6, 2009
AFP

PHNOM PENH - THAI and Cambodian defence ministers met on Friday in Phnom Penh to attempt to broker a deal to defuse a troop stand-off at their border that erupted in a deadly clash last year, officials said.

Thai Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon met with his counterpart Tea Banh for talks aimed at withdrawing soldiers from disputed land around Cambodia's ancient Preah Vihear temple, said General Neang Phat.

'The meeting will discuss troop pullbacks in order to return the situation to normal,' the Cambodian general told AFP shortly before the meeting began.

Mr Prawit was also scheduled to meet with premier Hun Sen at Cambodia's foreign ministry and other top officials during his day-long trip to the capital, Gen Neang Phat said.

Tensions over the long-disputed territory flared in July last year after 11th century Preah Vihear was granted United Nations world heritage status, and soldiers clashed there in October leaving four troops dead.

Subsequent talks between Cambodia and Thailand have not reached a resolution to the dispute.

The most recent talks ended on Wednesday in Bangkok with negotiators unable to agree on a common spelling for the temple's name, agreeing only to set up a working committee to look at legal issues and to begin mapping the border area.

The border between the two countries has never been fully demarcated, in part because it is littered with landmines left over from decades of war in Cambodia.

Preah Vihear: Sides fail to agree on troop cut [-Thai defense minister visit to Cambodia will be another useless visit]

5/02/2009
By Thanida Tansubhapol and Wassana Nanuam
Bangkok Post

Attempts to reduce the number of troops in the disputed area around Preah Vihear temple made no progress on Wednesday, says the lead Thai negotiator.

Joint Boundary Commission chairman Vasin Teeravechyan said the troop reduction issue failed to move forward as Thai and Cambodian officials could not settle on the name of the joint committee to be used in the documents.

Thailand proposed "the military monitoring group" be used for joint operations in the 4.6-square-kilometre area claimed by the two countries, but this was opposed by Cambodia, Mr Vasin said.

The Cambodian officials insisted on using the name "the temporary coordinating team".

The disputed area overlaps Kantharalak district in Si Sa Ket and the Cambodian province of Preah Vihear.

The two sides also could not settle on the name of the temple for inclusion in documents. Thailand wanted to refer to it as "the Temple of Phra Viharn-Preah Vihear" but Cambodia again objected.

Mr Vasin said any change in the names of the temple and the joint military patrol panel needed parliamentary approval in Thailand. The Thai side had to stick strictly to the names endorsed by parliament, he said.

The deadlock meant the minutes were not signed at the end of the two-day meeting yesterday.

The two sides only agreed in principle on technical issues, including the setting up of a team to survey the border from Nam Yuen district in Ubon Ratchathani and Phu Sing district in Si Sa Ket.

However, Cambodian Senior Minister Var Kim Hong expressed hope that the two countries would find a way to solve the problems over the disputed border region.

"We need to discuss and clarify some points and [I] hope that the next meeting will find a suitable solution," he said.

The next round of talks is scheduled for April.

Thailand and Cambodia pledged at a meeting in November last year to slash troop levels in the areas claimed by the two countries.

Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said he would not raise the Preah Vihear issue in talks with his Cambodian counterpart Gen Tea Banh and other top military leaders when he visits Cambodia tomorrow.

Gen Prawit said his agenda was only to introduce himself as the new defence minister.