ASEAN Regional Forum ministers, front row left, Indonesia's Marty Natalegawa, Cambodia's State Secretary Kao Kim Hourn, Australia's Kevin Rudd, Bangladeshi Dipu Moni, Brunei's Mohammed Bolkiah, Canada's John Baird, China's Yang Jiechi, top row from left, South Korea's Kim Sung-hwan, Singapore's K. Shanmugam, Sri Lanka's G.L. Peiris, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Foreign Ministry Chitriya Pinthong, East Timor's Zacarias da Costa, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Vietnam's Pham Gia Khiem hold hands during a group photo prior to the ASEAN Regional Forum Retreat Session in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday, July 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
NUSA DUA, Indonesia, July 23 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Foreign Ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations called in a statement Saturday for the early dispatch of Indonesian observers to a disputed border area between Cambodia and Thailand.
According to the statement, the foreign ministers support Indonesia, which has been tasked with dispatching observers to help secure a cease-fire, "to continue to undertake consultations with Cambodia and Thailand...including on the early assignment of the Indonesia Observer Team."
It said the minister recognized the importance of the July 18 order by the International Court of Justice that both Cambodia and Thailand allow the observers access to a demilitarized zone in the disputed area.
Cambodia and Thailand agreed last February at a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers in Jakarta to accept Indonesian observers, but their deployment has long been delayed, partly because of Thailand's demand that Cambodian soldiers be withdrawn first.
Cambodia insists the withdrawal be done simultaneously and in the presence of Indonesian observers.
Indonesia Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa has made known his intention to soon approach both sides for the talks on the sending of observers, according to Kao Kim Hourn, Cambodia's secretary of state for foreign affairs.
But the Cambodia official also told Kyodo News that the timing and venue of such a meeting remain unclear.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Friday his country is ready to host or join any such meeting on implementing the ICJ ruling. The Cambodia-Thai border issue was among the topics discussed during a series of ASEAN-organized meetings on the Indonesian resort island of Bali in the past week.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told other participants that the United States continues "to believe that ASEAN is the best venue to address issues between Thailand and Cambodia."
"We encourage both sides to restrain from taking steps that would escalate into violence and instead focus on building mutual trust," she said at a U.S.-ASEAN meeting Friday.
According to the statement, the foreign ministers support Indonesia, which has been tasked with dispatching observers to help secure a cease-fire, "to continue to undertake consultations with Cambodia and Thailand...including on the early assignment of the Indonesia Observer Team."
It said the minister recognized the importance of the July 18 order by the International Court of Justice that both Cambodia and Thailand allow the observers access to a demilitarized zone in the disputed area.
Cambodia and Thailand agreed last February at a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers in Jakarta to accept Indonesian observers, but their deployment has long been delayed, partly because of Thailand's demand that Cambodian soldiers be withdrawn first.
Cambodia insists the withdrawal be done simultaneously and in the presence of Indonesian observers.
Indonesia Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa has made known his intention to soon approach both sides for the talks on the sending of observers, according to Kao Kim Hourn, Cambodia's secretary of state for foreign affairs.
But the Cambodia official also told Kyodo News that the timing and venue of such a meeting remain unclear.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Friday his country is ready to host or join any such meeting on implementing the ICJ ruling. The Cambodia-Thai border issue was among the topics discussed during a series of ASEAN-organized meetings on the Indonesian resort island of Bali in the past week.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told other participants that the United States continues "to believe that ASEAN is the best venue to address issues between Thailand and Cambodia."
"We encourage both sides to restrain from taking steps that would escalate into violence and instead focus on building mutual trust," she said at a U.S.-ASEAN meeting Friday.
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