Thai, Cambodian military seek to defuse border tensions

BANGKOK, April 3 (TNA) - Thai Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan on Friday said Thai and Cambodian military officers discussed defusing tensions, after the two countries border guard troops exchanged gunfire in an early morning border incident in disputed territory near the ancient Preah Vihear temple.

A Thai soldier lost a leg in a land mine explosion on Thursday but Thai and Cambodian officers disagreed over which country he was in at the time.

Gen. Prawit said the incident was the result of a misunderstanding between operations officers of both sides along the border.

His remarks came two days after the Cambodian premier Hun Sen warned Thailand that it would face fighting if its troops crossed the disputed border.

Maj-Gen. Thawatchai Samutsakorn, deputy chief of Thailand’s second army, said the exchange of gunfire took place about 7am on Friday, three kilometres west of Preah Vihear temple or Phra Viharn as it is known in Thailand. There were no reports of any casualties from either side.

The clash broke off in the yet-to-be-demarcated disputed area of 4.6 sq km (1.8 sq miles) where Sgt-Maj. Suwat Chanaboon lost his left leg after stepping on a landmine while patrolling the border, the senior military officer said.

Cambodian forces said the Thai soldier was on their soil when the mine exploded.

Cambodia accused Thai troops of crossing the border, a charge Thailand has publicly denied.

Gen. Thawatchai rushed to the clash site to discuss the situation with Cambodian military officers.

It was the latest incident in a long-standing conflict over contesting claims to land surrounding the historic Preah Vihear temple, awarded World Heritage Site status by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) last year.

The incident marked the first deadly cross-border shooting since last October's border clash which left four troops dead.

The two countries have not yet resolved their border dispute in recent border talks.

Thai, Cambodian army officers hold talks after border gunfire [-Thai troops deliberately provoking Cambodian soldiers?]

BANGKOK, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Local-level Thai army officers were in the process to hold talk with those of Cambodian army officers after the two sides exchanged gunfire briefly early Friday morning on a disputed border area, Thai army spokesman Colonel Sansern Khaewkamnerd said.

The exchange of gunfire occurred after Thai soldiers went to tell around 20 Cambodian soldiers, who were at Tramareu area that Tramareu [Veal Entry in Khmer] belongs to Thailand, so they should not have entered, the Thai army spokesman told Xinhua during a telephone interview.

After the two sides separated from their meeting at Tramareu area, it was the Cambodian side that started opening fire, said the Thai army spokesman.

After the Thai soldiers did hear the shooting from the Cambodian side, they did fire back, said Colonel Sansern.

Meanhwile, Phay Siphan, Cambodian spokesman of the Council of Ministers, said the crossfire occurred around 07:15 local time (0015GMT), after a number of Thai soldiers trespassed on the Eagle Field, a piece of Cambodian soil.

According to a report by the website of Thai-language newspaper Thai Rath, the Cambodian soldiers claimed the shooting from their side was the accident.

By mid-Friday there was no report of casualty from the two sides.

On Thursday a Thai soldier during his patrol task stepped on a landmine and lost a leg at Tramareu area, and it was suspected that the landmine was planted by the Cambodian soldiers, Colonel Sansern said.

Tramareu area, which is around one kilometer from Preah Vihear temple, is in Kantalak district of Thailand's northeastern province of Sisaket, according to the Thai army spokesman.

In July last year, the tension over the long-disputed territory of the two countries started after the 11th century Preah Vihear temple at the border was granted UNESCO World Heritage status.

The two countries' troops clashed in the area in October and four soldiers died. The border dispute has not been resolved during subsequent talks by the two countries.

The two neighboring countries have never fully demarcated their disputed border, due partly to landmines left over from decades of war in Cambodia.