France ready to help resolve Cambodian, Thai border dispute

Mr. Fillon review the guard of honour at the Peace Palace before beginning talks with Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday.

People's Daily Online
July 03, 2011

The Prime Minister of France, Francois Fillon said Saturday that France is ready to help resolve the simmering Cambodian and Thai border conflict, through map provision and other means of peaceful solution.

Fillon's promise was made during a one-hour meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday afternoon at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh.

"At the request by Prime Minister Hun Sen, Fillon said France is ready to provide copies of maps it made at the start of the last century when it ruled Indo-China to help solve out the Cambodian and Thai border dispute," Srey Thamrong, a minister attached to the Prime Minister Hun Sen, told reporters after the meeting.

"Moreover, Fillon said France may also help to find out a peaceful solution for the Cambodian and Thai conflict," he added.

The maps were produced by the Franco-Siamese commission between the period of 1905 and 1908 when France ruled Indo-China.

Cambodia and Thailand have had sporadic border conflicts over a territorial dispute near the Preah Vihear temple since the UNESCO listed the 11th century Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008.

Thailand claims the ownership of 4.6 square kilometers (1.8 square miles) of scrub next to the temple.

Since then, both sides have built up military forces along the border and periodic clashes have happened, resulting in the deaths of troops and civilians on both sides.

Francois Fillon arrived in Phnom Penh on Saturday for a two-day visit at the invitation of Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Source: Xinhua