PREAH VIHEAR, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia assembled its troops near the Thai border Wednesday in the second day of alleged incursions by Thai soldiers amid tensions over disputed border land near a historic temple.
Cambodian officials said more Thai troops crossed into their country's territory Wednesday while Thai officials have denied any incursion, saying the troops were deployed on what was clearly Thai territory to protect their country's sovereignty.
However, a senior Thai military source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said about 200 Thai troops were inside what he called "disputed border territory."
Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said the number of Thai troops increased to about 200 Wednesday from around 170 Tuesday night.
He said Cambodia has about 380 troops in the area but insisted that "the situation is stable."
In the jungle on Preah Vihear mountain, Thai troops — armed with rifles and combat gears — sat in small groups.
A few feet away, Cambodian troops were pacing back and forth. Some were carrying B-40 rocket launchers.
Cambodian troop reinforcements were also seen on the road Wednesday.
"I have received an order from our commander to back up our forces over there," Ouch Borith, an army captain, told The Associated Press at a village several miles from the Preah Vihear mountain. He did not elaborate on the numbers of soldiers to be deployed.
"We are trying as hard as we can to avoid a situation that could lead to fighting," said Maj. Gen. Sor Thavy, a Cambodian commander in Preah Vihear.
He said he has reached an agreement with a Thai commander there that both sides would not make any troop movement Wednesday night and that the situation was likely to extend into a third day.
Despite the tension, efforts appeared to be under way to defuse the situation.
Khieu Kanharith said a Thai senior official had called Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh to propose a meeting at the highest level to try to resolve the situation.
He did not elaborate on who the Thai official was or what the terms of the negotiations were, but said the call was made on behalf of Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.
Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat could not be reached for comment on the proposed talks.
Cambodia's position for the proposed meeting would be to seek the withdrawal of Thai troops from its territory, Khieu Kanharith said.
"After that, we will talk about border problems," Khieu Kanharith said.
Meanwhile, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen appealed to the Cambodian media and the public to remain calm and "not to inflame (the situation) or add fuel to the fire," Khieu Kanharith quoted Hun Sen as saying.
"We will definitely not use any force unless attacked," Khieu Kanharith said.
Cambodian border guard unit commander Seng Vuthy said some of the 900 residents on the mountain where the temple is located have fled their homes to the foot of the mountain because they consider it safer.
PrearVihear — last week declared a UNESCO World Heritage site — is at the center of a long-standing border quarrel. Both countries claim 1.8 square miles of land around the temple, and Thai anti-government activists have recently revived nationalist sentiment over the issue. The activists and some government officials fear the temple's new status will jeopardize their country's claims to land adjacent to the site.
Thai army spokeswoman Col. Sirichan Ngathong said in a telephone interview Wednesday that the Thai troops were on Thai soil close to the disputed area. She declined to give the number of soldiers deployed.
"We do not have troops inside Cambodia and we are not in the disputed territory. Thai paramilitary troops are deployed on the Preah Vihear mountain on Thai soil," Sirichan said.
Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat Tuesday denied any incursion and said the relationship between the two countries remained normal.
In 1962, the International Court of Justice awarded Preah Vihear and the land it occupies to Cambodia, a decision that still rankles many Thais even though the temple is culturally Cambodian, sharing the Hindu-influenced style of the more famous Angkor complex in northwestern Cambodia.
Associated Press writers Sutin Wannabovorn and Ambika Ahuja in Bangkok contributed to this report.
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