Cambodia, Thailand to solve problem of Thai troops stationed in disputed area

PHNOM PENH, July 16 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian and Thai governments will have a top meeting to solve the matter of nearly 200 Thai troops stationed inside a Cambodian pagoda 200 meters away from the Preah Vihear Temple, a Cambodian official said here on Wednesday.

The border committees of both countries will have a top meeting as soon as possible to solve the problem of Thai troops who went into a pagoda on Cambodian territory without moving back, Khieu Kanharith, Cambodian Minister of Information and government spokesman, told reporters in a press conference.

The Thai side will choose the place to discuss the issue, he added.

"We wanted to have the stable situation like before July 15. The Thai troops ...have to return to their places," he said.

Three Thai protesters were arrested Tuesday for jumping an immigration checkpoint to reach the temple. Thai troops then came to fetch them, thus triggering the face off.

Cambodian soldiers arrested the three and later freed them all after they signed some documents, Khieu Kanharith said, adding that while both sides were waiting to discuss, those Thai troops equipped with light weapons and military bags were deployed into the pagoda without returning back.

Meanwhile, about 380 Cambodian troops were living and staying around the same pagoda named Wat Preah Sat and slept inside the pagoda together with Thai troops, he said.

The Thai troops on Wednesday morning also offered food to Cambodian monks at the pagoda, he added.

"I am optimistic that we could solve the matter soon," he said, adding that Cambodia and Thailand do not have a military stand-off but it is just a misunderstanding.

"We stopped Thai troops from entering any further into our territory. The Thai troops are not invaders. They had a misunderstanding about the map. They used their own map and we used our map too that we had the treaty with each other in 1907," he said.

They claimed that the pagoda they stayed is in the disputed area while Cambodia considers the pagoda as on its territory, he said.

"We do not have serious situation with the Thai side," he said, adding that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered all troops and governors of provinces bordering with Thailand to continue to have normal relationship and cooperation with Thai side.

The Preah Vihear temple straddles the Thai-Cambodian border atop the Dangrek Mountain and was listed as a World Heritage Site on July 7 by UNESCO's World Heritage Committee.

On June 15, 1962, the International Court of Justice decided to award the ancient Angkorian site at the Cambodian-Thai border to Cambodia over the protest of Thailand.

Editor: An lu