Thailand and Cambodia try again to defuse temple row

Thailand's Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag (L) speaks with Cambodia's Foreign Minister Hor Namhong over lunch at a hotel in Siem Reap, Cambodia July 28, 2008. Thailand's new foreign minister held talks with his Cambodian counterpart on Monday to defuse a row over a 900-year-old temple that has raised fears of a military clash between the southeast Asian neighbours. REUTERS/Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Handout (CAMBODIA). FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS.

By Ek Madra

SIEM REAP, Cambodia (Reuters) - Thailand's new foreignminister held talks with his Cambodian counterpart on Monday todefuse a row over a 900-year-old temple that has raised fearsof a military clash between the southeast Asian neighbours.

Career diplomat Tej Bunnag, who was appointed at theweekend after the resignation of his predecessor over the PreahVihear spat, declined to talk to reporters as he entered themeeting with Cambodia's Hor Namhong in the tourist town of SiemReap.

The Cambodian side was also keeping quiet before the talks,which are not expected to yield any major breakthrough,although a landslide victory in Sunday's election by the rulingCambodian People's Party (CPP) may give Phnom Penh scope tocalm tensions.

The CPP, led by wily former Khmer Rouge soldier Hun Sen forthe last 23 years, claimed to have won 90 of 123 seats inparliament, meaning it may be able to rule alone for the firsttime since elections organised by the United Nations in 1993.

The dispute with Thailand centres on 1.8 square miles (4.6square km) of scrubland near the ancient Hindu temple, whichsits on the jungle-clad escarpment that forms the naturalboundary between the two countries.

The International Court of Justice awarded the ruins toCambodia in 1962 in a ruling that has rankled in Thailand eversince. The court did not rule on the disputed bits of landlying nearby.

With troops and artillery building up on both sides of theborder, Cambodia has threatened to take the spat to the U.N.Security Council. Thailand wants all talks with its smallerneighbour to remain strictly two-way.

"Attempts to bring the bilateral issue to broaderframeworks at this stage could complicate the situation and inturn, produce undesirable repercussions on the good relationsand goodwill," Tej said in a statement on Sunday.

The talks -- the second attempt to resolve the disputethrough dialogue -- are expected to run until 4.30 pm (0930

GMT).

CONFLICTING MAPS

Negotiations a week ago between top military officialsquickly descended into an argument over which of several mapsdrawn up in the last 100 years should be used to settleownership of the temple and its surroundings.

General Chea Mon, a Cambodian commander at the temple, saidboth he and Thai officers had ordered a halt to the digging oftrenches and bunkers for the duration of the talks, but madeclear that any pull-back was out of the question.

"We are still in a military stand-off," he told Reuters.

The dispute flared when street protesters in Bangkok tryingto oust the Thai government seized on its approval of PhnomPenh's bid to list the ruins as a World Heritage site.

The election campaign in Cambodia ensured the row quicklyescalated. With that now over, the hope is that Phnom Penh willtone down the rhetoric and move towards some understanding withThailand.

However, there is still a risk of the row taking on a lifeof its own, with ordinary Cambodians organising collections ofcash, food and clothing in the capital to send to troops on theborder.

In 2003, a nationalist mob torched the Thai embassy andseveral Thai-owned businesses in Phnom Penh after erroneousreports of comments from a Thai soap opera star suggestingCambodia's famed Angkor Wat actually belonged to Thailand.

(Writing by Ed Cropley; Editing by David Fox)