Asean calls for 'utmost restraint' in Thai-Cambodia dispute

Grouping pledges help if both sides need support to resolve issue

By Reme Ahmad & Wong Mei Ling

DINNER MEETING: Asean foreign ministers discussed the Thai-Cambodia situation and Myanmar at Botanic Gardens last night. -- PHOTO: ASEAN MINISTERAL MEETING ASEAN foreign ministers yesterday urged Thailand and Cambodia to exercise 'utmost restraint' over an armed standoff near the disputed site of an ancient temple on their border. Foreign Minister George Yeo, speaking as the Asean chair, said late last night that the ministers during a working dinner at the Botanic Gardens were briefed on the border situation around the Preah Vihear temple 'and noted this with concern'. Myanmar was another major topic for discussion at the dinner at an exclusive French restaurant. On the Thai-Cambodia situation, Mr Yeo said: 'We urged both sides to exercise utmost restraint and resolve the issue amicably, in the spirit of Asean solidarity and good neighbourliness.' He was speaking to reporters flanked by the other nine Asean foreign ministers and officials, and Asean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan. Thailand was represented by Deputy Prime Minister Sahas Bunditkul and Cambodia by Dr Kao Kim Hurn, its Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Aung San Suu Kyi could be freed in six months MYANMAR has indicated that opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi could be freed in the next few months as current laws limit her maximum period of detention to six years. Foreign Minister George Yeo told reporters yesterday that his Myanmar counterpart, Mr Nyan Win, had said that she has 'about half a year's time' left. ... more At the Thai-Cambodia border yesterday, reports said that more than 500 Thai troops and well over 1,000 Cambodian soldiers remained locked in a tense standoff around a small Buddhist pagoda leading to the ruins of the temple, where nearby land is claimed by both sides. Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda yesterday added his voice calling for 'utmost restraint'. 'Certainly it is our collective wish that the direct parties concerned, Thailand and Cambodia, exercise utmost restraint and settle the problem between themselves,' he said. The two governments plan to hold a top-level meeting today of the General Border Committees in the Thai province of Sa Keaw near the border to resolve their differences. Mr Yeo said that Asean hoped that this meeting and other bilateral talks would help the neighbours find a way to defuse the situation. 'Both sides affirmed that they would abide by their Asean and international obligations and exert their utmost efforts to find a peaceful solution to the issue,' Mr Yeo said. Asean has decided to put its facilities at the disposal of the two countries if they felt they needed further support to resolve the issue, he said. The Thai-Cambodia dispute and the persistent Myanmar problem has cast a shadow over the annual foreign ministers' meeting at a time when it is pushing to implement a historic charter to transform Asean into a rules-based organisation. The formal Asean Ministerial Meeting talks begin today. THAI PM URGES TALKS ON BORDER DISPUTE WITH CAMBODIA, ASIA Tommy Koh responds to Barry Desker's criticism of Asean Charter: Review