PHNOM PENH, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime
Minister Hun Sen said Sunday that he agrees with his Thai counterpart Samak
Sundaravej that both countries should make utmost effort to prevent the border
situation from deteriorating in order to preserve long-lasting friendship and
good cooperation between the two peoples.
"We will closely collaborate to find interim measures
to defuse the current tension," he said in the letter to Samak which was made
available to reporters later Sunday.
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Cambodian Buddhist monks walk past a
soldier standing guard at the Cekakiri Svarak pagoda in the compound of
the Preah Vihear temple, 245km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, July 20,
2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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Hun Sen first wrote a letter to Samak on July 18 to
ask him to withdraw hundreds of Thai troops, which stationed near the Preah
Vihear Temple in Cambodia's eponymous province in a serious military standoff
with Cambodian troops, also hundreds in total number.
Samak wrote back on July 19 and Hun Sen wrote him
again on Sunday (July 20). Both sides agreed to hold top-level meeting in
Thailand on July 21 to find a solution for the military stalemate arising from
their dispute about the true possession of the border area near the temple.
"In this context, I have instructed Tea Banh, Deputy
Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense, to lead a Cambodian delegation
to a special session of the Cambodian-Thai General Border Committee (GBC), which
will be held on Monday, July 21, 2008, in Sa Kaeo province of Thailand, to find
an appropriate solution for the present problem," said Hun Sen.
"I have also instructed Var Kim Hong, chairman of the
Cambodian-Thailand Joint Border Commission (JBC), to work with his Thai
counterpart to convene a JBC meeting as soon as possible, in order to expedite
completion of the demarcation work of the entire Thai-Cambodian border," he
said.
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Cambodian soldiers guard the Preah
Vihear temple, 245km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, July 20, 2008.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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In the letter, Hun Sen also outlined international
documents that tells about the exact land and building ownership within the
dispute area.
In 1962, the International Court of Justice awarded
the 11-century classic Khmer-style Preah Vihear Temple, together with the land
it occupies, to Cambodia. The decision has rankled the Thais ever since.
Earlier Tuesday, three Thai protesters trespassed the
border to reclaim the temple, but were immediately arrested. Thai troops then
came in to fetch them, thus triggering the face off with Cambodian soldiers
there. Bilateral military build-up occurred day by day.
The temple straddles the Thai-Cambodian border atop
the Dangrek Mountain and was listed as a World Heritage Site on July 7 by the
UNESCO's World Heritage Committee.
Cambodia informs UN Security Council of Thai incursion into its territory
PHNOM PENH, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia has complained to the UN Security Council that Thai forces violated its territory near World Heritage Site the Preah Vihear Temple, where hundreds of troops continued to face off Sunday, said a government press release.
Cambodia's permanent mission in New York has submitted an account of facts, including a letter and maps, for the Security Council in relation to Thai violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cambodia, according to the release. Full story
Thailand, Cambodia halt military moves pending border talks
BANGKOK, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Both Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to temporarily suspend all military movements along the Thai-Cambodian border at Thailand's Si Sa Ket province and Cambodia's Preah Vihear province, waiting for the Thai-Cambodian General Border Committee (GBC) meeting to be held in Thai Sa Kaeo province on Monday.
According to reports of the state-run Thai News Agency, Weewalit Jornsamrit, Second Army Area Deputy Commander of Thailand, has been assigned to inspect the disputed border area and discuss the situation with Cambodia's Preah Vihear province deputy governor. Full story
