BANGKOK, July 21 (Xinhua) -- A special meeting of Thai-Cambodia General Border Committee (GBC) to defuse conflicts over disputed border area of Preah Vihear Temple started in Thailand's Sa Kaew Province on Monday.
Thai side is represented by Supreme Commander Gen.
Boonsang Niempradit while the Cambodian side by Defense Minister Gen. Tea Banh.
Earlier, Weewalit Jornsamrit, Second Army Area Deputy
Commander of Thailand, said that both sides agreed to suspend military movements
that may cause further tension, but the military officials would remain
stationed at strategic points pending the result of the GBC meeting.
On Monday, Boonsang declined to give comments to
reporters prior to his departure for the talks.
Despite commitment to a peaceful resolution of the
standoff, Thailand now has some 1,500 military personnel and border patrol
police officers, reinforcing security on roads in Soi Dao and PongNam Ron
districts, bordering Cambodia, the state-run Thai News Agency reported.
Police checkpoints were also set up to conduct search
on vehicles passing through the area, while more troops were in place at border
passes around the clock.
Boonsang was assigned by Prime Minister Samak
Sundaravej to lead the Thai delegation to Monday's GBC meeting.
Boonsang said earlier he could not say whether the
Thai troops stationed near Preah Vihear will be withdrawn as requested by
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen last week in a diplomatic note sent to his Thai
counterpart.
"It is better to wait for the outcome of the meeting
first," Boonsang said, noting that "the Thai military will not employ violence
to solve this problem."
Instead, the military would use peaceful means in
solving the border crisis, he said.
The military standoff between Cambodia and Thailand
entered into its seventh day on Monday. Both countries historically laid claim
to the 11th century temple, which now sits on Cambodian soil following the
action of the International Court of Justice which awarded the ancient temple to
Cambodia in 1962.
However, the temple can practicably only be accessed
from Thailand. The exact demarcation of the border around the ruins remains in
contention.
The security situation around the temple deteriorated
after three Thais, including a Buddhist monk, were briefly detained by Cambodian
soldiers after surreptitiously crossing into the disputed border area on
Tuesday. The trio were released the same day but refused to leave the 4.6 square
kilometers disputed area adjoining the temple complex.
Thailand first issued a warning that travel to the
vicinity of the temple be avoided, but later closed off access altogether within
10 km of the temple.
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. Full story
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
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
