The Nation
Published on July 8, 2011
Indonesian officials visiting Si Sa Ket's Kantharalak district on Wednesday were not the survey team mandated by the Jakarta-sponsored peace package but rather embassy officials collecting basic information on the ground, Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongpakdi said yesterday.
They visited the border district near the controversial Preah Vihear temple to collect information for the Indonesian observation team. Their mission was under recognition and facilitated by the Foreign Ministry, the Defence Ministry and the Army, Thani said.
The team was briefed on the situation and border management after the February skirmishes by the Si Sa Ket-based Suranaree Task Force. The embassy mission stemmed from the peace package brokered by Jakarta in early May, Thani said.
According to the package agreed upon by the foreign ministers of Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia, the survey team for the observers would visit the border areas on the Thai and Cambodian sides only after both countries had officially admitted the team and an announcement was made at a General Border Committee or Joint Boundary Commission meeting.
The Indonesian observer team is supposed to monitor a permanent ceasefire after clashes between Thai and Cambodian troops in February.
Phnom Penh has accepted the terms of reference for the observer team but Bangkok had been reluctant to do so, as the military disagrees with the plan to have foreign observers in the border area near Preah Vihear.
The outgoing Thai government under Abhisit Vejjajiva employed delay tactics by setting a precondition of having Cambodian troops withdraw from the disputed border area first. Cambodia rejected the conditions.
The peace package was brokered on the sidelines of the Asean Summit in Jakarta in May.
-----------------------
Thailand - Indonesian Embassy officials visit Kantharalak District, Sri Sa Ket Province
On 7 July 2011, Mr. Thani Thongphakdi, Director-General of the Department of Information and the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, responding to the media enquiries about the visit to the Thai-Cambodian border by Indonesian officials on 6-7 July 2011, said that following coordination between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Defence, and the Royal Thai Army, three diplomatic officers from the Embassy of Indonesia in Thailand visited Kantharalak District, Sri Sa Ket Province, accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other agencies concerned. The Indonesian officers were briefed by the Suranaree Task Force, Second Army Region on the current situation along the Thai-Cambodian border. The Indonesian officers also visited the area prepared for the Indonesian representatives when they are sent in the future as well as other areas along the border.
This border visit was arranged along the same line as the one undertaken by the Embassy of Indonesia in Cambodia on the Cambodian side of the border in February 2011.
The Foreign Ministry Spokesperson further stated that this border visit of the Indonesian diplomatic officers went well. The Indonesian officers expressed good understanding about the situation as well as Thailand’s commitment and sincerity to resolve the border dispute with Cambodia peacefully and amicably within the ASEAN family.
Indonesian officials visiting Si Sa Ket's Kantharalak district on Wednesday were not the survey team mandated by the Jakarta-sponsored peace package but rather embassy officials collecting basic information on the ground, Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongpakdi said yesterday.
They visited the border district near the controversial Preah Vihear temple to collect information for the Indonesian observation team. Their mission was under recognition and facilitated by the Foreign Ministry, the Defence Ministry and the Army, Thani said.
The team was briefed on the situation and border management after the February skirmishes by the Si Sa Ket-based Suranaree Task Force. The embassy mission stemmed from the peace package brokered by Jakarta in early May, Thani said.
According to the package agreed upon by the foreign ministers of Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia, the survey team for the observers would visit the border areas on the Thai and Cambodian sides only after both countries had officially admitted the team and an announcement was made at a General Border Committee or Joint Boundary Commission meeting.
The Indonesian observer team is supposed to monitor a permanent ceasefire after clashes between Thai and Cambodian troops in February.
Phnom Penh has accepted the terms of reference for the observer team but Bangkok had been reluctant to do so, as the military disagrees with the plan to have foreign observers in the border area near Preah Vihear.
The outgoing Thai government under Abhisit Vejjajiva employed delay tactics by setting a precondition of having Cambodian troops withdraw from the disputed border area first. Cambodia rejected the conditions.
The peace package was brokered on the sidelines of the Asean Summit in Jakarta in May.
-----------------------
Thailand - Indonesian Embassy officials visit Kantharalak District, Sri Sa Ket Province
On 7 July 2011, Mr. Thani Thongphakdi, Director-General of the Department of Information and the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, responding to the media enquiries about the visit to the Thai-Cambodian border by Indonesian officials on 6-7 July 2011, said that following coordination between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Defence, and the Royal Thai Army, three diplomatic officers from the Embassy of Indonesia in Thailand visited Kantharalak District, Sri Sa Ket Province, accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other agencies concerned. The Indonesian officers were briefed by the Suranaree Task Force, Second Army Region on the current situation along the Thai-Cambodian border. The Indonesian officers also visited the area prepared for the Indonesian representatives when they are sent in the future as well as other areas along the border.
This border visit was arranged along the same line as the one undertaken by the Embassy of Indonesia in Cambodia on the Cambodian side of the border in February 2011.
The Foreign Ministry Spokesperson further stated that this border visit of the Indonesian diplomatic officers went well. The Indonesian officers expressed good understanding about the situation as well as Thailand’s commitment and sincerity to resolve the border dispute with Cambodia peacefully and amicably within the ASEAN family.
No comments:
Post a Comment