PHNOM PENH, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia has spoken
more seriously about its border dispute with Thailand, as its foreign ministry
issued a letter Tuesday to its compatriots to tell about the Thai occupation of
its territory and the ensuing Thai military threat.
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Cambodian military police patrol Preah
Vihear temple, 245 km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, July 21,
2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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"On
July 15 2008, the armed forces of Thailand encroached on Cambodian territory in
the vicinity of the Preah Vihear Temple," said the letter dated Monday and made
public Tuesday morning.
"Thailand has violated the international boundary of
the two countries which had been delineated since 1908 by the Mixed Commission
composed of representatives from Siam (now called Thailand) and a delegation of
the Protectorate Power (namely France) representing Cambodia at that time," said
the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in the
letter addressed to all the kingdom's compatriots.
"To date, the diplomatic efforts of the Royal
Government of Cambodia to persuade Thailand to withdraw its troops and return to
the status quo prior to July 15 2008 have been to no avail," it said.
"The negotiations were not successful because
Thailand insisted on using a map drawn unilaterally, thus violating Cambodia's
territory," it said.
Therefore, the ministry decided to "request for an
emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to find a solution to the problem
in accordance with international law," it added.
Hor Namhong, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, is currently meeting
with the ambassadors from the five permanent member countries of the UN Security
Council and will hold a press conference before Tuesday noon to make clear
Cambodia's latest reaction to the dispute.
Earlier Monday, he asked Singapore, the chair of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to rally the foreign ministers
of Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Laos, to find a way to help ease the
tension at the Cambodian-Thai border.
"Thai troops with artillery and tanks are building up
along the border, constituting a very serious threat not only to the sovereignty
and territorial integrity of Cambodia, but also to peace and stability in the
region," he told ASEAN in a letter.
Also Monday in Thailand, bilateral top-level talks
failed to produce any consensus in regard with the military standoff near their
border.
Last 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 face-off with Cambodian soldiers there.
Bilateral military build-up occurred dayby day. Currently, the troops there are
widely estimated at thousands.
In 1962, the International Court of Justice awarded
the 11th century classic Khmer-style Preah Vihear Temple, together with the land
it occupies, to Cambodia. The decision has rankled the Thais ever since.
The temple straddles the Thai-Cambodian border atop
the DangrekMountain and was listed as a World Heritage Site on July 7 by the
UNESCO's World Heritage Committee.
Thai-Cambodia border meeting fails to
meet breakthrough, but both promise no force
BANGKOK, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The
special meeting of the Thai-Cambodian General Border Committee (GBC) concluded
Monday evening with both Thailand and Cambodia agreed not to use force to settle
their dispute over the borderline near Preah Vihear Temple. Full story
Cambodia turns down Thai request to
review border lines
PHNOM PENH, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian side Monday
turned down the Thai side's request to review the border lines, during the
meeting of the General Border Committee (GBC) between both countries held in
Thai province of Sa Kaew, said a senior Cambodian official. Full story
