BEIJING : The Thai and Cambodian leaders yesterday agreed to avert any future armed conflicts along the border by using bilateral talks to solve problems.
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| Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, left, smiles as he shakes hands with Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Sompong Amornvivat, during the seventh Asia-Europe Summit (Asem) in Beijing yesterday. The border dispute was brought up for discussion. |
The Joint Boundary Committee (JBC) will hold a meeting within two weeks after the Thai parliament endorses a temporary framework for the negotiations next Tuesday.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen told Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem) in Beijing that the border clash last week was unplanned and from now on the two sides would advise their troops to show restraint and not confront each other, Thai Foreign Minister Sompong Amornvivat said yesterday.
He said Hun Sen added that the two countries would try to prevent any further armed clashes and would use existing mechanisms in order to deal with their boundary disputes.
The Cambodian leader also said the two sides would promote and improve cooperation on the regional, international and bilateral fronts.
Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said Hun Sen told Mr Somchai that Thailand was not only a neighbour, but also a friend.
In separate talks between the Thai and Cambodian military commanders in Siem Reap yesterday, which are aimed at defusing tensions near the ancient Preah Vihear temple that erupted into a firefight on Oct 15, leaving one Thai and three Cambodian soldiers dead, both sides agreed to be more patient and avoid another clash.
"For the issue of the Preah Vihear area, both sides vowed to exercise maximum patience in order to avoid confrontation or more military clashes," the leader of the Cambodian delegation, General Chea Mon, told reporters after the meeting.
"Both sides will continue discussions on resolving the problem peacefully to ease the tension gradually," he said.
The Thai commanders, led by Lt-Gen Wiboonsak Neeparn, the Second Army commander, said there was a "friendly atmosphere" with the Cambodians, but insisted that Thailand's soldiers would stand firm.
"The Thai side strongly reiterates that the position of our troop deployments is clearly inside Thai territory," said a statement from Thai commanders released as the meetings started.
1 comment:
"The Thai side strongly reiterates that the position of our troop deployments is clearly inside Thai territory,"
So, the Thai mentality is obvious: The zone, the Khmer soil being disputed, belongs to the Thais. This is why the Thai will commit their troops to the disputed zone.
So then, what is optimism about the attempt to resolve "this matter" peacefully? The Thais has already declared, at least in their mind, that "that piece" of Khmer soil belongs to the Thais.
Not to be a negative minded person, but I see that without international interference the disputed zone may once again become a dead zone.
And why do I insist that "that piece of land" is Khmer soil?
Well, not to mention of the long centuries old historical fact of the Khmer Empire that even the entire Thailand "belonged" to the Khmer Empire. But also in recent decade according to the agreement between Siam and Frence and the map drawn when the Preah Vihear was granted as a heritage to the Khmer the surrounding soil is within the "agreed map".
And a serious question here is will there be another nasty shootout between the two long time adversaries? Will it be a major clash that will draw outside forces to intervene?
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