Fresh talks on border squabble

Tharit: Patience is essential
[How much patience does Cambodia need?]

Tuesday November 04, 2008
THANIDA TANSUBHAPOL
Bangkok Post

THAI-CAMBODIAN ROW

Thailand and Cambodia will hold border talks next week followed by a meeting of foreign ministers in a fresh attempt to resolve the land border dispute.

The Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) has been set for Monday and Tuesday in Siem Reap, and the disputed 4.6-square-kilometre area surrounding Preah Vihear temple is high on the agenda, foreign affairs spokesman Tharit Charungwat said yesterday.

Mr Tharit said patience was needed. An agreement could not be expected overnight, despite the best intentions to resolve the problem through bilateral negotiations.

"I'm glad both sides have agreed to bilateral talks, but we all must exercise restraint because many rounds of talks can be expected," said Mr Tharit.

Field survey teams from both countries may be going to the borders during the talks, he added.

Both countries claim sovereignty over the disputed area. Thailand says it is in Kantharalak district of Si Sa Ket, but Cambodia insists it is part of its Preah Vihear province.

The JBC meeting comes after parliament last week approved a negotiation framework with Cambodia.

Vasin Teeravechyan, the retired Thai ambassador to South Korea, heads the Thai team to the JBC meeting. He yesterday attended the preparatory meeting at the Foreign Ministry.

The Cambodian side is led by Senior Minister Var Kim Hong.

Mr Tharit said Foreign Minister Sompong Amornvivat and his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong will meet on Nov 12 in Siem Reap after the JBC forum.

He said Cambodia may also raise other disputed areas, such as Ta Muean Thom and Ta Kwai temples, during the ministerial talks, as it had previously intended to at the last meeting in August.

[Thai] FM to visit Siem Reap for border talks

November 4, 2008
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation

Foreign Minister Sompong Amornwiwat will join his Cambodia counterpart Hor Namhong in Siem Reap on November 12 for another round of talks on resolving the Preah Vihear border dispute.

It would be the third such meeting following the two in July and August between former foreign minister Tej Bunnag and Hor Namhong.

Sompong, who succeeded Tej more than a month ago, would discuss the areas with overlapping claims near the Khmer sanctuaries of Ta Muen Thom and Ta Muen Kwai Krabey.

The agenda was set at the second ministerial meeting in Thailand's resort beach town of Cha-Am in August, ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said yesterday.

"We are glad to see the restoration of a good atmosphere and resumption of negotiations between the two countries," he said.

Thailand and Cambodia have been engaged in a war of words since July after the Preah Vihear Temple was inscribed on the list of world heritage sites. The tensions escalated into a border skirmish last month that claimed the lives of four soldiers on both sides and wounded many others.

A new round of ongoing boundary demarcation talks with Cambodia would be held from November 1014 after Parliament gave the goahead.

Vasin Teeravechyan, former ambassador to South Korea and co-chairman of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary (JBC), would lead the Thai team.

The JBC might pick the disputed area near Preah Vihear Temple as a priority, Tharit added.