dpa, BangkokPost.com
Embattled Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat left Thursday for the two-day Asia-Europe Meeting Summit in Beijing where he faces a busy visit.
Mr Somchai and his entourage left at 10:40 am (0340 GMT) to Beijing, which will host the seventh Asem Summit on Friday and Saturday.
Mr Somchai, who has been Thailand's prime minister for only 35 days, will be a key player at Asem, especially on the sidelines of the summit.
He is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on the two countries' joint claims to an overlapping 4.6 square kilometres of land adjacent to the 11th century Preah Vihear temple.
"We are hoping the meeting will create more understanding," said Thai Foreign ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat. "Already the situation has improved, and we're hoping we can come back to the track we were following all along that this issue should be settled by bilateral talks," said Tharit.
On Oct 15, Thai and Cambodian troops opened fire on one another in the disputed zone near the temple in a confrontation that reportedly claimed two Cambodian dead and five Thais wounded, one of whom died in hospital earlier this week.
The temple was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in the Hague in 1962.
However, the ruling failed to state the common border in the area surrounding the temple complex, which is still subject to joint claims. The long spat escalated after the temple was named a World Heritage Site by Unesco.
Mr Somchai will also be tasked to explain to his Asem partners what the political situation is in Thailand.
Since being named prime minister last month, Mr Somchai has been under constant pressure to resign and dissolve his cabinet by the People's Alliance for Democracy. PAD leaders said on Wednesday they will continue their protests until they force the government to resign, call elections and adopt their "new politics".
Thailand's ongoing political instability is a worry for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations which will hold its annual summit in the kingdom in mid-December.
In light of the ongoing unrest in Bangkok, the government is mulling moving the Asean summit to the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai.
"It's a possibility," confirmed Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit.
Mr Somchai and his entourage left at 10:40 am (0340 GMT) to Beijing, which will host the seventh Asem Summit on Friday and Saturday.
Mr Somchai, who has been Thailand's prime minister for only 35 days, will be a key player at Asem, especially on the sidelines of the summit.
He is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on the two countries' joint claims to an overlapping 4.6 square kilometres of land adjacent to the 11th century Preah Vihear temple.
"We are hoping the meeting will create more understanding," said Thai Foreign ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat. "Already the situation has improved, and we're hoping we can come back to the track we were following all along that this issue should be settled by bilateral talks," said Tharit.
On Oct 15, Thai and Cambodian troops opened fire on one another in the disputed zone near the temple in a confrontation that reportedly claimed two Cambodian dead and five Thais wounded, one of whom died in hospital earlier this week.
The temple was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in the Hague in 1962.
However, the ruling failed to state the common border in the area surrounding the temple complex, which is still subject to joint claims. The long spat escalated after the temple was named a World Heritage Site by Unesco.
Mr Somchai will also be tasked to explain to his Asem partners what the political situation is in Thailand.
Since being named prime minister last month, Mr Somchai has been under constant pressure to resign and dissolve his cabinet by the People's Alliance for Democracy. PAD leaders said on Wednesday they will continue their protests until they force the government to resign, call elections and adopt their "new politics".
Thailand's ongoing political instability is a worry for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations which will hold its annual summit in the kingdom in mid-December.
In light of the ongoing unrest in Bangkok, the government is mulling moving the Asean summit to the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai.
"It's a possibility," confirmed Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit.
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