A Change of Guard

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Wednesday 27 April 2011

US Calls For Restraint By Thai, Cambodian Forces As Clashes Continue

26th April, 2011

(RTTNews) - The United States has urged security forces of Thailand and Cambodia to exercise restraint, refrain from provocative acts, and immediately take necessary steps to reduce tensions and avoid further conflict on the border.

In a statement expressing deep concern over clashes between security forces along the Thai-Cambodia border, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the loss of life, displacement of civilians, and damage to property was regrettable.

She said Washington supported the efforts of Indonesia in its role as chair of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to work with both the countries to reach a resolution. The United States was also engaging with Thai and Cambodian officials directly on this matter.

Clinton urged the Royal Thai Government and Royal Government of Cambodia to resolve their disputes peacefully to help strengthen regional stability.

Thai, Cambodian border forces have been engaged in renewed clashes since Friday over the ownership of a 4.6-square-kilometer territory around the Preah Vihear temple.

A dozen soldiers on both sides have been killed and more than 50 others wounded in exchange of fire and artillery at the disputed sites around the 11th-century Hindu temple. It forced tens of thousands of residents at the border to flee their homes. The fighting continued on Tuesday afternoon, reports said.

Cambodia and Thailand share an 800-kilometer land border. Their claims over the cliff-top Preah Vihear temple, which is on the Cambodian side of a vague boundary, has been a cause for a long-standing feud between the South East Asian neighbors.

Both sides built up military forces along the border when the shrine was granted UNESCO World Heritage status in July 2008, making it a regular flashpoint between the two nations.

by RTT Staff Writer

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

US needs to do more than just talking.

Anonymous said...

Yes, we want concrete action from UN, ASEAN, and US. Just telling both sides to stop fighting and go back bilateral doesn’t work.